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THE ADVENTURES OF 



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A MIGHTY HUNTER. 



THE ADYENTUEES OF 

CHARLES L. ' YOUNGBLOOD ON THE 

PLAINS AND MOUNTAINS. 



COMPILED FROM 



MR. YOUNGBLOOD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



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PROFUSELY ILLUaTBATED(^l^smS!^f^'\ 

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chicago and new york: 
Rand, McNally & Company, Publishers. 

1890. 



G86 



COPYEIGHT, 1890, BY C. L. YOUNGBLOOD AND E. H. PeCK. 



Mighty Hunter. 



TO MY AGED FATHER, 

"WHOSE PATERNAL CARE AND AFFECTION HAVE BEEN SO 

CONSTANTLY MANIFESTED TOWARD ME 

DURING MY WHOLE LIFE, 

THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. 

C. L. T. 



(5) 



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CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGK. 

Introduction 11 

CHAPTER II. 

Speciilatlon — A Corner in Poultiy — Bruin on Top 17 

CHAPTER III. 
Out for a Hunt — A Missing Overcoat — Youngblood's 
First Buffalo — Indians on tlie Tramp — Old Poison- 
slinger 29 

CHAPTER IV. 
Bad Indians — Buffalo-cliips — A Frightened Hunter— 
Not Quite Dead Yet 45 

CHAPTER V. 

The Move to Smoky River — The Indians Attacli the 
Camp— On the War-path— The Captives 59 

CHAPTER VI. 

Great Luck — Red-skins Again — Some of Them Die 
Suddenly — A Ghastly Belt — How the Indians Con- 
duct Buffalo-hunts — The Delights of being a 
Squaw— Indian Torture 77 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Legend of the " White Woman "—A Night with 
Wolves— Black-tailed Deer — Panthers and Mount- 
ain Lions — Back to the Plains 91 

(7) 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

PAGE. 

Back to Kansas— At Odds— The Biter Bit— Emigrants 
on a Hunt— Indians, Not Buffalo 103 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Soldiers' Lagging Chase of Indians— All Dress- 
parade and No Sense— A Greeny Catches a Buf- 
falo Calf— " Help Me to Let It Go " Ill 

CHAPTER X. 

Meanness Which Did Not Pay— Too Confident Hunt- 
ers — Dangers of the Plains — Back to Missouri 
Once More 121 

CHAPTER XL 

In the Lake District— A Gang of Badgers— A Good 
Harvest of Wolf -skins — Omahas— Jimmie's Fright 
—A Bad Blizzard— Frost-bitten 135 

CHAPTER XII. 
Cimarron Creek — ^Plenty of Game— In a Bad Fix— He 
Couldn't Stand the Indians — Afraid of Lightning 
Over His Head — A Laughable Accident 139 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Wild Horses— Perishing of Thirst— Water at Last- 
Bones on the Plains— Knew More than the Guide 
— The Result of Pigheadedness 149 

CHAPTER XIV. 
A Great Buffalo-hunt— New Game— A Lively Chase 
after Wild Horses 159 

CHAPTER XV. 

After Wild Horses Again— Hostile Red-skins— A Big 
Drive — A Close Brush with Indians 173 



I«'?i»'':s>v>".:*f>'"v 



CONTENTS. 9 

CHAPTER XVI. 

PAGE. 

Disappointment — Bad Weather — Friglitening a School 
—A Close Shave • 187 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Englishmen on a Larls — Better Shots at Beer-bottles 
than Buffalo— A Tussle with a Calf — Howard in 
Trouble — Dodging a Detective 197 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
A Sudden Rise — The Intelligent Beaver — No Badger 
for tlie Dogs 217 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Almost Starved — Eating Prairie-dogs — A Green Hunt- 
er's Relic — Squeamish " Tenderfeet " 233 

CHAPTER XX. 

South of the Arkansas River — Two at One Shot — 
Wolves 239 

CHAPTER XXI. 

An Editor Tries It— Plenty of Game— A Big Haul- 
Two Doctors from Chicago — Ducli-shooting — 
Curlew — The Business Overdone 243 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Kansas as a Hunting-ground — Prairie on Fire — Buffalo 
Stampede — Snow-bound and Nearly Starved — 
Hunting and Breaking-in Wild Horses— A Fair 
Exchange 253 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Wise Men of the East— An Authority on Woodchuck 
—Bound to Eat It, Mudhen or Not— The Tale of 
a Tail 265 



10 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

PAGE. 

" No Man's Land " — " Cheyenne Jim " — The Ace of 
Spades— Youngblood versus Wolves 275 

CHAPTER XXV, 

Terrible Weather — Prairie Hospitality — A Game of 
Bluff— Youngblood to the Fore 285 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Rollins' Ranch — A Monarch of the Plains — Jolly Good 
Fellows 293 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

No Pay, No Meat— On the Trail Again— Water, Water 
Everywhere! 301 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Youngblood as a Piscator— O'Brien the Hustler — 
Youngblood, Junior, Wins His Spurs — A Modern 
Ananias — Outwitting the Reds 307 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

A New Edition of the One-horse Shay — A Mighty 
Hunt — A Needless Scare — " Vengeance is Mine," 
Saith the Pioneer — A Scrimmage with Lo Vermin 823 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Garden City— Several Successful Hunts — Heavy Snow 
—A Blinded Bull 335 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Dreams go by Contrary — Game Plentiful — Prairies on 
Fire— A Dude Hunter 349 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
Conclusion , 357 



m!^fmfK<ii;mi^^^^ip:'^'i 



CHAPTEE I. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The days of the lordly bison are numbered. 
Here and there, in the far Northwest, a soli- 
tary estray, which has thus far escaped its 
inevitable doom, is encountered by the red 
or the white hunter, but altogether there are 
scarcely enough left to yield one specimen to 
each of the zoological gardens of the country. 
It was not so, however, in the '60s, when 
the subject of this narrative migrated 
from his home in Indiana to the great i)lains. 
At that time, countless herds of buffalo shook 
the solid earth with their mighty trampling, 
and no one would have credited the tremen- 
dous slaughter that was to be accomplished in 
the next quarter of a century. 

Let us, then, ere the bison passes into the 

annals of mythology, and he that has seen a 

buffalo is laughed at as a relater of fairy tales, 
(11) 



12 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

record the adventures of a hunter of those 
powerful and formidable beasts. 

Charles L. Youngblood was born in Ander- 
son Township, Warrick County, Indiana, on 
the 9th of April, 1826. His father was a 
Methodist minister, a native of South Caro- 
lina, and his mother was a Virginian. The 
first forty years of Charles' life were devoted 
to farming, and during those years he 
learned, if not much from books, a vast deal 
from Nature. His education was of the most 
rudimentary sort, for it was not until years 
later that the modern pedagogue, with his 
globes, and his charts, and his thousand and 
one devices for teaching the young idea how 
to shoot, got abroad in the land. The 
Hoosier school-house of those days was a 
primitive log cabin, with a big open fire- 
place, wherein the great logs roared, and 
snapped, and sizzled during the three or four 
winter months which constituted the school 
session; and the presiding genius was a sort 
of bugaboo, whose rod backed the infallible 
authority of the blue-covered spelling-book. 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

and concealed only too often tlie scant limits 
of his own information. Country life, in 
those days, was generous; spontaneous, and 
free, and all men were neighbors on the jjrin- 
ciple of the golden rule, for occasions often 
rose when a friendly neighbor was about the 
handiest thing a man could have about him. 
It has been frequently noted that life in the 
country is far more sociable than that of a 
city, and the observation might be for- 
mulated in a general rule, that the farther 
apart the houses the closer together are the 
hearts. Innumerable occasions for social 
gatherings were known to our fathers which 
we, in these populous times, have never 
known. There were log-rollings, quilting- 
bees, wood-chopping matches, camp-meet- 
ings (real c«m^-meetings they were, too, and 
not the pretenses of to-day), corn-huskings, 
and affairs of that sort, which kept dwellers 
at a distance neighborly and familiar; and to 
the old settler who compares the selfish rush 
and scramble of our times with the friendly 
generosity of the days of his youth, it must 



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14 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

appear that the world has lost something in 
becoming more thrifty and enlightened. 

PerhaiDS it was a sense of the decay of 
primitive customs, coupled with an innate 
love for adventure, which caused the young 
farmer, whose historian we are, to weary of 
his Indiana home, and to follow, with long- 
ing eyes, the westward course of the nation's 
eager, pulsing life. 

Some men are born to be pioneers; the 
conventionalities and tame monotony of civ- 
ilized life are irksome to them, and in all 
places, exceiDt upon the frontiers, where life 
is a rough-and-tumble sport with the ele- 
ments, they are dissatisfied and out of place. 
Youngblood was such an one, and in 1865 
his longing for the free, open life of the 
backwoods became so strong and keen, that 
he cut abruptly loose from the ties of friends 
and kindred, and, with his wife and children, 
started out on the western trail, across Illi- 
nois and Missouri, and brought up in 
Kansas City, which, at that period, was 
nothing but a small frontier town, with a 



5;^W'!rVi;" s:;!^ s-^:- >^ > 



INTRODUCTIOlSr. 



15 



convenient location upon the Kansas-Mis- 
souri State line. The pioneer had reached 
the frontier once more, and, thenceforward, 
he never turned back to, nor regretted, the 
civilization he had abandoned. Fortunately, 
for those who have done, and will do, the 
same, some men are " built that way." 



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CHAPTER II. 

SPECULATION — A CORlSrEE IN POULTEY — 
BRUIN" ON TOP, ETC. 

When Youngblood reached Kansas City, 
in 1865, the "boom" had not yet struck the 
town, and it was a small, uninviting, 
unpromising place. The new-comer had 
almost money enough in his jpocket to buy 
it as it stood, and still have enough left 
to make some of the improvements which 
it sadly needed. In the light of later de- 
velopments, he has been bitterly sorry that 
he did not. If the struggling town had 
looked more inviting, he might now be 
the landlord of about 200,000 tenants; but 
the miserable, squalid shanties of that day 
he had no use for, and later, when he 
wanted to buy, the owners were not in a 
trading humor. Accordingly, he lingered 
but a short time in the embryo metropolis of 

2 (17) 



18 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

the Southwest, ere he pushed on into Kansas. 
But, in spite of his frontiersman -like tenden- 
"lies, accustomed as he had grown to ten-acre 
fields with neat fences about them, the broad, 
open, treeless prairies seemed desolate in- 
deed; so, in desi3air, the pioneer retraced his 
steps into Missouri, where he finally bought 
a farm near the center of the State, and 
remained there until 1870. 

While living here, the "boom" came 
along, and, in its impetuous rush, struck 
Mr. Youngblood several severe blows. A 
railroad was surveyed through the section in 
which his farm was situated, and a town laid 
out — on paper. It was a ' ' dead sure thing;" 
work was already begun on the railroad, and 
town lots were bound to command a pre- 
mium as soon as the line reached the i)lace. 
It was too good a chance to be missed, with 
millions sticking out of it at every corner; 
so Mr. Youngblood laid out several thou- 
sands of dollars in buying up a good part of 
the town from the misguided owners, who 
were sacrificing the land at about ten times 



jy<;'S"i-^ ■'/■'■ 



SPECULATIOTvr. 19 

its real value. Soon afterward, history once 
more demonstrated its parrot-like ways of 
repetition, the projected railway fell through, 
and the man who was to have prospered by 
the now collapsed "boom," found it hard to 
unburden himself of his superfluous real 
estate, even at prices that amounted to a 
virtual giving of it away. The speculator 
had greater reason than ever to regret that 
he had not purchased Kansas City, but still 
more that he had bought a city which was 
"bound to grow." 

Disheartened at this unlucky turn of the 
wheel, Mr, Youngblood once more pulled up 
stakes and again turned his face toward the 
setting sun, with a cargo consisting of about 
200 bushels of dried fruit and a lot of but- 
ter. He passed through Denver, Golden City, 
Black Hawk City, and Central City to Neva- 
da City, where he sold out his cargo and 
cast about for an anchorage. 

Nevada City, at this time , was herself en. 
joying a "boom," a genuine "boom." The 
mining fever was at its height, and every- 



20 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

one was infected and drawn into the mad 
rush after wealth. The town was young and 
typically frontier. Everybody had some- 
thing to do, and did it, and it was as imi^os- 
sible to escape the excitement as it would 
have been to get rich by sitting down and 
waiting for a ship to sail down the mountains. 
But while the larger proportion of the 
populace were seeking the elusive metals, 
others, with wise forethought, calculated 
that while "pay dirt" might or might not 
be struck, it was certain that where people 
are congregated there will money be spent, 
and so they set themselves about securing 
that wealth that was not problematical. 
Among other odd industries practiced with 
this end in view, the novel scheme of i)oultry- 
raising excited our new settler's curiosity. 
At the very first, it did not strike him as 
very much of a business, in fact, he con- 
sidered it as about as close to nothing as an 
enterprise could come; but inquiry developed 
the fact that the poultry-rancher was not so 
devoid of understanding, after all. The 



immm' 



SPECULATIOT^. 21 

ranch was about five miles from tlie mines, 
where thousands of miners, with full-grown 
appetites, were at work, and in the immediate 
neighborhood were several immense boarding- 
houses, some of them patronized by as many 
as 1,500 boarders. In these great eating- 
houses the poultry-raiser found a ready and 




profitable demand for the entire product of 
his ranch, and obtained from them, simply 
at the trouble of carrying the stuff away, 
table-scraps that reduced his feed-bill to 
absolutely nothing. He was getting at the 
time from 50 cents to $1.00 apiece for chickens, 
and about as much a dozen for eggs, of which 



■*«ix;?<;k,,^^j| 



22 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

lie was selling some ninety dozens daily. He 
owned about 2,000 liens, and, having a mo- 
nopoly of tlie business, with light labor and 
small expense, was making money hand over 
fist. 

But Youngblood, after maturely consider- 
ing the matter, decided that he did not come 
so far simply to open a hen-house, and looked 
further. 

One day, as he was wandering through the 
town on the lookout for an opening, he passed 
a house before which a large crowd had col- 
lected. 

" What's up? " he asked of a bysta-nder. 

"Man chawed up by a cinnamon b'ar," 
was the curt response. 

Youngblood entered the house, and saw the 
poor unfortunate stretched on a lounge await- 
ing death. But he was an old hunter, and 
"game" to his last breath; and, seeing the 
stranger's interest, described the fight, while 
the death-dew was gathering on his brow. 

It seemed that he had shot and badly 
wounded the bear, and was following its 



^5s^virw ■^•■'^ 



SPECULATION. 23 

trail through a rocky piece of underbrusli, 
when suddenly he came face to face with the 
enraged brute. Before, in his surprise, he 
had time to raise his rifle, the bear sprang 
upon him and dashed him to the ground. 
They rolled together over and over among 
the rocks, until, in his frantic efforts to free 
himself, both the man's legs were broken. 
Realizing that further struggle would be use- 
less, he resorted to strategy, and lay perfectly 
still, feigning death. The bear released his 
embrace, and, after eyeing and smelling him 
suspiciously for a few moments, turned and 
started slowly and heavily away. As soon 
as his antagonist had gone a few feet off, the 
man raised himself painfully on his hands 
and knees, and began to crawl away; but the 
slight noise he was forced to make attracted 
the bear' s attention, and it sprang upon him 
again with redoubled fury, breaking one of 
his wrists. He again had recourse to the 
same strategy, and Mdth more success this time, 
as he remained motionless until the animal 
was out of sight, and then began dragging 



24 A MIGHTY HUNTiER. 

himself homeward through the snow, which 
was about four inches deep. 

A few moments after the encounter, his 
brother hajjpening to pass that way, noticed 
the marks of the struggle, and, following the 
bloody trail in the snow, soon came up with 
the wounded bear, which turned fiercely 
upon him, eager for another fight. But a 
repeating rifle soon placed the brute liors de 
combat, and the victor turned back to find 
the other party to the fight. Following the 
trail for about half a mile, he finally came 
up with the wounded man, and his feelings 
can better be imagined than described on 
recognizing in the mutilated being his own 
brother. The poor fellow, with one wrist 
and both legs broken, had dragged himself 
that distance over the rocks and through the 
snow. He was carried to the nearest house, 
where Youngblood heard his story, and 
where he died, after lingering a few hours in 
mortal agony. His grief-stricken father 
made a vow over the dead body of his son, 
that he would have the bear skinned and 






SPECULATION. 25 

would sleep upon its Mde as long as he 
lived. 

This grim incident made a decided impres- 
sion upon Youngblood, in fact, decided him 
to become a hunter, and an opportunity to 
begin his new vocation soon presented itself. 

A few days later, at Golden City, he fell 
in with a party of hunters who were on the 
eve of starting on a big buffalo-hunt, and 
Youngblood seized with avidity upon the 
chance to have some sport, and, at the same 
time, make a little money; for buffalo-hunt- 
ing, be it well understood, was a very profit- 
able business, the cured meat being readily 
disposed of and the hides commanding good 
figures. 

The hunters welcomed the new-comer to 
their ranks, and with great satisfaction he 
began his preparations. 

But before the expedition started, a little 
mischance came very near putting our friend 
in the town jail instead of on the plains. In 
order to dry out his gun, he loaded it one day 
with a charge of powder and fired it at 



''r'^^*^ 



26 A MIGHTY IIUNTEE. 

random throngli the front door of his dwell- 
ing. A moment afterward, he was surprised 
at the sight of a policeman, who ran across 
the street, and, taking him by the arm, said: 

' ' Come along with me, sir! That is against 
the law." At this, Youngblood quickly 
made up his mind that he was in a bad strait, 
and decided to try the effect of stupidity 
upon the guardian of the peace; so, assum- 
ing a look of innocent surprise, he said: 

"Why, what's wrong, mister? I hain't 
done nothin' . ' ' 

"Oh! you haven't, haven't you?" ex- 
claimed the policeman. "Didn't you shoot 
into the public street?' ' 

" Sho!" ejaculated Youngblood, " you 
ain't a goin' to take me up jest fer firin' off 
a load of powder fer fun, are you?" 

" Yes, it's against the law, and you'll have 
to come along with me." 

"I didn't know that," said Youngblood. 
" Ef I'd a knowed that, you bet I wouldn't 
ha' done it. Can't you let me off this time?" 

While the policeman was considering the 



SPECULATIOlSr. 27 

matter, the town marshal, who had been 
aroused by the shooting, came up, and quick- 
ly recognizing in the prisoner a brother 
Mason, accepted his excuse, and, advising 
him to be more careful in the future, set him 
free. Thereafter, when he wished to dry out 
his gun, he used a swab. 



CHAPTER III. 

OUT FOE A HUNT — A MISSING OVEECOAT — 
YOUNGBLOOD'S FIEST buffalo — INDIANS 
ON THE TRAMP — OLD POISON-SLINGEE, ETC. 

The preparations for his first expedition as 
a hunter were soon made, and, in company 
with three other men, all accomplished 
scouts, Youngblood set out from Golden 
City on an eighty-mile tramp after buffalo. 
The first game they struck was a herd of 
antelope, of which they succeeded in bag- 
ging one. After this little triumph, they 
I)ressed on for about a mile farther, when 
they stumbled upon a dug-out, where they 
resolved to pass the night. After some par- 
ley, they proposed to the owner of the prim- 
itive dwelling that they pay for their 
accommodations with antelope-meat, which 
bargain was struck then and there. 

Congratulating themselves upon the 
" dicker," they slept soundly that night, but 

(29) 



'i;:??jf)»»? 



30 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

by the next morning their enterprising land- 
lord had changed his mind and demanded 
$5.00 for his hospitality. This seemed very 
mean; bnt the money was finally paid, 
not, however, without value received. Their 
host had entertained them the night before 
by displaying a new overcoat, which he 
had just bought for $14.00. He never 
enjoyed the luxurious warmth of that coat, 
for when his guests bade him farewell, it 
somehow managed to keep them company. 
It was a good trade— $5.00 for a $14.00 
overcoat, and they all got the worth of their 
money, for, being a community purchase, 
they wore the garment turn and turn about. 
Pushing forward, without any qualms of 
conscience, they reached a spot that promised 
good hunting. They were confident, from 
various signs well known to Youngblood's 
companions, that there was game in the 
vicinity, but were at a loss how to get at it, 
as there was no timber at hand in which to 
conceal themselves. It was a wide, treeless 
stretch of prairie, and the bulfalo would 



HV(?^T^-^,';wji7qp? ^'J ■^;.' ••-*■ -;'■■ 



OUT FOR A HUNT. 



31 



have seen them miles away. However, they 
determined to go into camp. Youngblood 
was wild to catch his first gli 




game; so, leaving his companions to make 
the preparations for camping, he stole away 
by himself, struck off from the road, and 



32 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

after a walk of several miles, his hopes were 
realized by the sight of a large herd of 
bison. His heart beat high with excitement, 
but he kept at a resi)ectful distance from 
them for two reasons: first, because, being a 
novice, he was somewhat frightened by the 
great, shaggy, heaving mass of -horned life, 
and, second, because he feared that he in his 
turn might alarm them. However, keeping 
himself carefully concealed, he crejDt gradu- 
ally closer, and when within about 600 
yards, aimed at the herd and fired. It 
was something like the traditional shot at 
the barn-door, but it scored, and he enjoyed 
the suiDreme satisfaction of seeing his first 
buffalo go down. He was so elated with the 
success of this, his virgin effort, that, though 
he might easily have dropped a dozen, he 
contented himself with self-congratulation, 
and hurried back as fast as his legs could 
carry him to receive the congratulations of 
his friends. 

The entire party then turned out to bring 
the trophy into camp. 



1 



w - 



OUT FOR A HUNT. SS 

But Youngblood's adventures for the day 
were not yet at an end; for, on tlieir way to 
the place where the slain monster lay, a huge 
bull was spied, heading almost directly for 
the party. "What man has done, man can 
do," reasoned the doughty nimrod, and he 
begged his companions to allow him to try 
his hand alone at this monarch of the prairie. 
Their consent somewhat reluctantly obtained, 
he moved a short distance to one side, and 
lay down directly in the path of the approach- 
ing animal. On came the unwieldy brute, 
and when the bloodshot v/hites of his eyes 
were visible, a somewhat close range, the 
concealed hunter fired. A tuft of wool flew 
from the bison's back, but he charged 
straight on in an unswerving line. In a 
flash, another cartridge was inserted, and 
again Youngblood fired. But it had no 
apparent effect on the bull, except to irritate 
him, and to show him the enemy that had 
stung him. He had not paid much attention 
to the first shot, but the second he evidently 
regarded as an insult, and, lowering his 



34 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

head, came thundering right upon the now 
thoroughly frightened hunter, who began to 
think that hunting the buifalo was not such 
fun, after all, and to wonder whether the 
beast, when infuriated, attacks with its 
hoofs, its horns, or its teeth, or with all 
three, when, to his infinite relief , the animal 
dropped dead in its tracks, within a few 
yards of him. 

For the next few hours, Youngblood fancied 
that he could teach the rest all about the 
business, and when, a short time after, he 
sighted a herd about a mile distant, he 
started off to put his theories into practice. 

He got within range and fired, killing one, 
when immediately the entire herd gathered 
about it, bellowing and tossing their heads 
in consternation. Here was his chance, and 
he kept blazing away until he had dis- 
patched eight and driven the rest of the 
herd away. 

That settled it, and he regarded himself 
as a whole "Wild West Combination" — 
Indians and cow-boys included. 



jff«j!S7Tj*"T; tv?'^ ^.-Ji"" ■ ■' . 



OUT FOR A HUNT. 35 

The carcasses were quickly dressed, and 
the party started on their return to camp. 
They had retraced their steps but a short 
distance, when they perceived a large band 
of Indians approaching. It was an anxious 
moment, and caused them not a little trepi- 
dation until they discovered that the red 
brothers were not on the war-path. The 
band numbered about 1,500, and they had a 
permit from the Government to hunt for 
thirty days. It was a strange and novel 
sight to the man fresh from civilization, and 
he watched the procession curiously as it 
filed past. First came the warriors on their 
ponies, and after them a straggling line of 
squaws and luggage. The pappooses were 
lashed on the backs of ponies, which were 
turned loose and driven like a herd of cows. 
After the manner of the noble "Lo," all 
the work was left to the squaws, who drove 
the laden pack-horses, and looked after the 
luggage and pappooses, while the chivalrous 
warriors rode at their ease on ahead. 

The wea.ther was piercing cold, and the 



36 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

driving snow pelted the unprotected faces of 
the pappooses, but they were toughened, 
and took it as a matter of course, laughing 
and crowing with delight, while their small 
eyes glittered like black beads. Some of the 
youngest of them were carried in a sort of 
pocket, made by slinging a blanket between 
two poles, to one end of which a horse was 
harnessed as to a pair of shafts, while the 
other end dragged u]pon the ground. It 
made a primitive but efficient i)erambulator, 
and the babies appeared to enjoy it. As the 
long procession filed past, one of the ponies 
shied violently at the strangers, made a dash 
and jumped across a narrow gulch, causing 
some excitement, and slinging out the little 
fellows it carried, like young birds tipped 
out of a nest. Youngblood's acquaintance 
with Indians and Indian characteristics was 
afterward considerable, but this was the only 
time he ever knew an Indian, young or old, 
to shed tears. 

The slain bison were safely brought into 
camp, but buffalo-meat, at this time, was a 



OUT FOE A HUNT. 37 

drug in the market, and it did not pay to 
save it, so for the remainder of the expedi- 
tion Youngblood and his companions went 
hunting simply for the sake of the hides. 
They were very successful, and in a few days 
they had killed over 100, all of which they 
carefully skinned, leaving the carcasses to 
rot upon the plains. 

While out on this, his first hunt, our friend 
met with a decidedly painful accident. As 
he was pushing his way into camp after a long 
tramp across the prairie, he saw three buffalo 
lying down. He had only five cartridges 
left; so, to make sure of them, he slipped up 
as close as he could, and then fired, killing- 
two and mortally wounding the other. His 
last cartridge, with which he meant to put an 
end to the injured survivor, failed to fire, 
and as he was attempting to pick it out, it 
exploded, frightfully mangling his hand. 
This accident prevented all hunting for 
nearly two weeks, and came very near being 
the cause of a still greater misfortune. 

While his hand was still too sore to handle 



38 A MiaHTY HUNTEE. 

a gun, lie had wandered out by himself, and, 
at some distance from the camp, was stroll- 
ing leisurely along a branch, when, attracted 
by an unusual rustling sound, he happened 
to look up, and over the top of a ridge, only 
a few yards away, he saw the "tips" of 
several Indians, as they passed in single file 
on the other side. Unarmed as he was, his 
heart was in his mouth, for he recognized 
them as belonging to a hostile tribe. With 
great presence of mind, and as noiselessly as 
possible, he threw himself flat on his face, 
and, with great good luck, the Indians passed 
without observing him, for, if he had attracted , 
their attention, they would, certainly have 
made short work of him. This was a lesson 
to him, and in the future he never went far 
from the camp without his trusty "old 
poison-slinger," which was the picturesque 
name given his gun by his com^Danions. 

" Old poison-slinger" was a Sharp's rifle, 
50-caliber, made to load and shoot eight 
times a minute, and capable of throwing a 
ball to kill at a distance of five miles. 



»^T TV}*r<-:f-^''-rrr *wr .'vi* 



OUT FOR A HUNT. 39 

Youngblood often killed with it buffalo 
which were a mile away, and made such long 
shots with it that, after firing, he had plenty 
of time to raise his head and mark the ball 
as it struck its goal. 

Not long after the accident to Youngblood' s 
hand, two of the hunters decided that they 
had had. enough of it, and returned home; 
but by this time our hero had become enthu- 
siastic in regard to the sport, and he managed 
to persuade the third man to remain awhile 
longer. This man was a most excellent shot, 
and the two hit it off very well together. 

On one occasion, when they were out 
shooting, about twenty miles back from their 
camp, close to a little stream, which bore the 
grewsome name of Cold Hell Creek, Young- 
blood's partner had a good chance to ijrove 
his ability as a shot, and by so doing, in all 
probability, saved his own life. He had 
killed several buffalo, and wounded one cow, 
which fell over on its side. The hunter 
advanced to kill, but before he had come 
very close to her, fortunately for him, she 



42 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

beyond their most sanguine expectations. 
As they were riding along one morning, dis- 
heartened and discouraged at their ill-suc- 
cess, there suddenly burst upon their 
entranced view the most tremendous herd 
of the longed-for beasts that Youngblood had 
ever seen in his life, or, in his long and varied 
experience, ever saw again. It was impos- 
sible to form, any conjecture of how far east 
or west the vast mass extended. On it came, 
like an enormous dark, whirling cloud, and 
with a mighty thunder of hoofs that shook 
the plain as if it had been riven by an earth- 
quake, frightening the horses so that they 
became almost unmanageable, and electrify- 
ing both men to the highest pitch of excite- 
ment. All that day, and all that night, in a 
broad column, the great animals tramped by 
with a heavy, continual rumble, and an 
incessant bellowing. No thought of sleep 
came to the sportsmen, even if sleep had 
been possible in the midst of the uproar. 
One continual blaze of lire sprang from their 
guns, and when the herd had passed, the 



frs^«^p»''»n^s:TT'<7^-^'r 



OUT FOE A HUNT. 43 

number of carcasses amounted to 103, whicli 
would have been even mucli larger if they 
had not paused occasionally to remove the 
skins of those they had already killed. 

They returned to their camp, elated beyond 
all descrij)tion, but full of wonderment as to 
what could be the cause of such a large herd 
passing at full gallop. Their curiosity was 
finally satisfied, for they found out some 
time afterward that trouble had broken out 
between the Cheyenne Indians and the Utes, 
and the Utes, being beaten and driven back, 
had set fire to the prairie to prevent pursuit. 
This conflagration in the high, thick grass 
had, in its spread, driven before it the 
buffalo, antelope, wolves, and other four- 
footed denizens of the great plains. 

With this magnificent result closed the 
first experience of the young emigrant from 
Hoosierdom in his new career, which he 
afterward pursued with constant delight to 
himself, and an ever-increasing prosperity to 
his pocket. 



W^' 



CHAPTEE IV. 

bad indians — buffalo chips — a feight- 
enj:d huntee — not quite dead yet, 

ETC. 

After the extraordinary prowess which 
Youngblood had exhibited, even in his 
novitiate, he felt, and justly, that he should 
no longer be reckoned as a "tenderfoot," but 
was entitled to take his position as a full- 
fledged hunter and scout. But thus early in 
his career he was condemned to meet with 
one rather serious drawback to the safe and 
successful pursuit of his vocation. One of 
the periodical Indian outbreaks occurred, and 
the Indians became so aggressive that hunters 
were compelled, for their own security, to go 
out in squads of from eight to a score, and 
even then their excursions were attended with 
considerable risk. 

Almost every day the killing of one or 
more hunters was reported. These were 

(45j 



46 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

generally solitary scouts, for the Indians are 
usually far too cowardly to make an attack, 
unless their own numbers are overwhelm- 
ingly the greater. The plan which meets 
with the most favor among these aborigines 
is for a large band to creep about and sur- 
round a small party of three or four whites, 
and then, with fiendish delight, shoot down 
the defenseless men or put them to death 
with the most horribly ingenious tortures. 

It was not long before Youngblood had 
some experience of their treacherous double- 
dealing. He was one of a band of ten buffalo- 
hunters, when a troop of Ogallahs encamj)ed 
not far from them. They had come from 
their own reservation with the usual thirty 
days' hunting permit from Uncle Sam. One 
day, soon after their arrival in the vicinity, 
a small squad rode over to the white men's 
camp. They ajDpeared friendly enough, and, 
after some preliminary talk, proposed to race 
the horses they rode with those of the 
hunters, the winners in the several races to 
take both horses. The Indians were unlucky, 



BAD INDIANS. 47 

and to a man lost their mounts. Then they 
put up their guns, but with no better success. 
They bore their losses with stolidity, how- 
ever, and did not seem much chagrined, but 
shook hands all around with the greatest 
appearance of good- will. In fact, their pro- 
fessions of friendship were so profuse that 
the suspicions of Youngblood and his friends 
were strongly aroused, and they became very 
uneasy, knowing, as they did, if the redskins 
should prove revengeful, they were no match 
for them in numbers. They determined, 
therefore, to take all precautions possible. 
They tethered the horses close together in a 
bunch, devoured a hasty supper, saw that 
their weapons were all in fighting trim, and 
then put out the fire and laid down, but not 
to sleep. They were on the watch and pre- 
pared for the attack that they felt confident 
was certain to come. 

N'or were their premonitions destined to 
prove untrue. For a tim^all was quiet, but 
about two hours after dark, here and there a 
form was discovered by the sharp eyes of the 



•.T'T^TVli! 



48 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

hunters, creeping stealthily toward their 
camp. Their object was evidently to get 
back their own horses, steal as many of the 
others as they could, and, in case of discovery, 
to massacre the whole party before they 
should recover from their surprise. But 
they had to deal with men who knew their 
ways well, and who could be quite as cunning 
as themselves should the circumstances de- 
mand. 

The little party of watchers waited until the 
would-be thieves, and possible murderers, 
were as close as they considered they ought 
to come, and then, at a low word of command, 
opened fire upon them with their repeating 
rifles. This was wholly .unexj)ected to the 
Indians, as they were certain the whole camp 
was buried in sleep. It was a decided case 
of the biter bit, and, with wild yells of rage 
and execration, all those who had escaped 
scathless from the bullets took to their heels 
and ran as fast as their legs could carry 
them. A few of the hunters sprang to their 
feet and pursued them, but only a short dis- 



!!'M?f^'r-fi';''F'^ *':("•'• 



BAD INDIATSrS. 49 

tance, as tliey did not care to come into con- 
flict with the large force not far away. 

There was not much sleep for the white 
men that night, and the next day they 
decided it would be best to remain in camp, 
for they knew well that they had not heard 
the last of the little affair of the previous 
night, but would be obliged to make some 
kind of a settlement with the enraged and 
outwitted Ogallahs. Sure enough, before 10 
o'clock in the morning, a large body of them 
were seen slowly approaching the camp. It 
must be borne in mind that the noble savage 
is Uncle Sam's particular pet, and the hunters 
would not dare to lift a single finger unless 
they were attacked. But, in view of this 
last contingency, they had gotten everything 
in readiness, and were on the alert and pre- 
pared for any emergency that might arise by 
the time the Indians were within speaking 
distance. 

The chief, who spoke fair, not to say idio- 
matically emphatic, English, cried out explo- 
sively: 



50 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

' ' You d— d killed four of my 

men out there!" 

As lie spoke, he waved his hand to where 
lay four bodies of dead Ogallahs. 

One of the hunters, Hank Miller by name, 
replied, "Pawnees!" meaning that the men 
had been killed by the Pawnees. At this 
the old chief flew into a violent passion, and 
roared out: "Pawnees! no Pawnees!" at the 
same time drawing his finger in a rapid circle 
about his head to indicate that, had the kill- 
ing been done by the Pawnees, they would 
have scalped their victims, which, of course, 
the white men had not done. "Pawnees! 
Pooh! Pooh! Pooh!" he repeated, with a 
world of utter disbelief expressed in the 
ejaculation. 

For some little while the chief and his 
braves sat upon their horses and bandied 
words with their pale brethren, all the time 
watching very closely for any relaxation of 
vigilance that might give them the oppor- 
tunity of comparatively safe attack they 
longed for. But the wary hunters were too 



":!j?^^w. ''r^^" ■?*:'''• 



BAD INDIANS. 51 

much for them. They stood erect and watch- 
ful, with their guns in their hands, their 
thumbs on the hammers, and their fingers on 
the trigger. They could have fired at a 
second's notice, and, all being dead shots, 
each one would, undoubtedly, have killed his 
man. The Indians were quite well aware of 
this, and seeing that any plan of retaliation 
they had formed was wholly unfeasible, they 
finally rode away, muttering imprecations 
on their too cunning foes as they disap- 
peared. This was the end of the trouble, 
however. The hunters were not disturbed 
any further, and returned peacefully to their 
hunting for the rest of the thirty days, kill- 
ing on an average 100 buffalo a day. 

After this hunt was over, Youngblood 
decided to return for a time to Missouri. 
After remaining there for about six months, 
his roving instincts and a desperate longing 
for the excitement of the chase got the better 
of him, and he once more started West. 

Before leaving Missouri, however, he made 
arrangements with two inhabitants of War- 



52 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

rensburg, A. Buckmaster and L. S. Shidler, 
to dispose of tlie meat he should send to 
them; and he also induced two Missourians, 
Louis Allred and Silas McFerrin, to accom- 
pany him on his expedition. 

After traveling some fourteen days they 
came to a place where there was every pros- 
pect of ' ' good hunting. ' ' Buffalo aboundecf, 
and without any difficulty Youngblood suc- 
ceeded in bagging an average of eight a day. 
The hides and ffesh of eight good buffalo 
brought at least $50 in the market, and so he 
was making a most excellent thing of it, as 
well as enjoying capital sport. 

They had pitched their camp on the banks 
of a little stream, knov/n as the Sappy River. 
The country was flat and open, and it was at 
least twenty miles from any timber. During 
their sojourn here, they were overtaken by a 
heavy snow-storm, the snow falling to a depth 
of over a foot on a level, and Youngblood 
and his two companions were obliged to 
remain shut up in their tent for three days, 
with scarcely any fuel, the storm having 



7^ffjr!^vfft;^j_'r.wf',t-:i''.'- 



BAD INDIANS. 53 

come on so suddenly that they were pre- 
vented from laying in a supply. They had 
only a very small amount on hand, and that 
consisted almost exclusively of buif alo chi^DS, 
which is simply the excrement of the buffalo 
dried in the sun. 

This, to the uninitiated, would probably 
seem a very poor substitute for coal or wood, 
but in the Far West it is ]3referred to any- 
thing else for all ordinary purjDoses. Much 
hotter fires can be made from it than that 
produced by wood. Easterners would prob- 
ably feel considerable delicacy in using 
such fuel, but the wives of the pioneers think 
nothing of carrying a load of it in their 
aprons, and in almost every house a sackful 
of it can be found standing in a corner, and 
when the fire needs replenishing, the mistress 
of the house takes a few chips from the sack 
and throws them on the fire with no more 
comiDunction than if she were handling wood 
or coal. By a careful use of their buffalo 
chips, the three companions contrived to 
escape freezing, and when the snow had dis- 



54 A MIGHTY HUNTEE, 

appeared, they i^repared to resume their 
hunting. 

The actual hunting itself, however, was 
confined to Youngblood himself, for neither 
AUred nor McFerrin, the two men he had 
brought with him, were in the least skilled 
in the noble sport. He had employed them 
simply to skin and prejDare the meat of the 
buffalo after his own gun had brought them 
low. AUred had certain ambitions, how- 
ever, and one day when Youngblood had 
killed several in a short space of time, and 
they were busy skinning them, about a mile 
away he saw a big buffalo coming almost 
directly toward them. Full of excitement, 
he implored Youngblood to let him try his 
luck. 

"All right," was Youngblood' s good- 
natured response. "There is the gun; go 
ahead!" 

"I just want to kill that one," returned 
AUred, " so as to be able to say that I have 
killed a buffalo." 

Youngblood nodded. AUred strapped on 



™['f " 



BAD INDIAISrS. 55 

the cartridge-belt, picked up the gun, an(J 
stalked off proudly with the air of a conquer- 
ing hero. 

The buffalo was a single one that had 
become separated in some way from its herd, 
and was coming on the full run. AUred 
walked quickly forward about 200 yards or 
so, and by this time the buffalo was close 
upon him. The amateur sportsman could 
not restrain a spasm of fright, as the huge 
brute, still coming toward him at a headlong- 
pace, loomed up before him. He brought 
the gun to his shoulder as if about to shoot, 
but his alarm suddenly overpowered all 
other considerations, and concluding discre- 
tion to be the better part of valor, he at once 
turned tail and flew back to where his com- 
panions were, as if the evil one himself were 
behind him. At almost the same moment 
the buffalo perceived him, and, frightened in 
its turn, wheeled about and ran too. Allred 
never noticed this, but thinldng the beast 
was after him, white with terror, fairly 
leaped over the ground, expecting at every 



56 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

stride to be overtaken and crushed by the 
hoofs of his formidable antagonist. 

When he reached Youngblood and Mc- 
Ferrin, and found them simply holding their 
sides with laughter, he looked sheepish 
enough, especially after they had pointed 
out to him the buffalo rapidly disappearing 
in the opposite direction. But nothing could 
convince him, however, that he had not 
escaj)ed a frightful danger, and he was effect- 
ually cured of all desire to be able to boast, 
on his return home, that he had killed a 
buffalo. 

Another time, though, he was in much more 
genuine danger; he was out with Young- 
blood, and they were busily engaged in skin- 
ning the buffalo which the latter had killed, 
when they came to one which still showed 
signs of life. Youngblood concluded to whet 
his knife while it was dying, and to enable 
him to do so, laid his gun down upon the 
ground. He had hardly commenced the 
shari)ening i^rocess when he was startled by 
a cry from Allred. 



w^;'Ai^-"j,..-/> 



BAD INDIANS. 57 

"Look out!" he screamed. "Look out!" 
He turned, and to his horror saw that the 
animal, in one last effort, had staggered to 
its feet and was close upon them. There 
was no time to recover the gun, and they 
were forced to run without it. The wounded 
buffalo stopped at the gun, and began to paw 
it, at the same time digging its horns into 
Youngblood's coat, which had been thrown 
down beside it. As they had but the one 
gun, the two men could do nothing but 
retreat to a respectful distance, and calmly 
await developments. It was not long, how- 
ever, before the beast lay down beside the 
gun, and soon drew its last breath, making 
it safe for them to return and complete their 
task. 



pppippp^.s5w^i«R^;jr«i»?^3?^ 



CHAPTER y. 

THE MOyE TO SMOKY EIVEE, — THE INDIANS 
ATTACK THE CAMP — ON THE WAE-PATH — 
THE CAPTIVES, ETC. 

The little band finally moved from Sappy 
River to Smoky River, a very small stream, 
not more than a rod or two wide, and on the 
banks of which grew a few straggling willows, 
with here and there a lofty cotton- wood tree. 
Youngblood considered this a good jDlace to 
stay for awhile and continue his hunting. 
They dried the fore quarters of the builalo 
meat, and sold the hind quarters, sending 
large quantities of it to Buckmaster and 
Shidler, the agents in Missouri. 

While at Smoky River, Youngblood 
started forth one day, taking Allred with 
him, in search of a herd of buffalo which, 
with the aid of his field-glass, he had dis- 
covered some three miles away. 

(59) 



60 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

McFerrin was left behind in the camp 
to load cartridges. 

About an hour after the departure of his 
companions, he happened to raise his eyes, 
and saw, at a short distance, a band of 
Indians riding down upon him. They had, 
doubtless, been watching the camp, and had 
waited for the departure of the hunters in 
order to plunder it at their ease. 

McFerrin realized in an instant that, 
single-handed, he would have no chance 
against them, so, dodging from tree to tree, 
he managed to esca]3e from the camp, and, 
crawling through the grass, reached the 
bluffs on the river and hid himself in the 
thick bushes, where he had a good vantage 
point to watch the proceedings of the ma- 
rauders below. 

The Indians approached with the utmost 
caution, and when they were within range, 
fired several shots into the tent. As this 
action elicited no response, they were satis- 
fied that the camp was deserted, and they at 
once dashed in and took possession. They 



'^^m?r^»^?^W^?W ' '■■"^ " * 



THE MOVE TO SMOKY KIVER. 61 

tlioroughly rilied tlie camp of everything 
that was of any value, and then rode away 
to a point about a quarter of a mile distant, 
where they hid themselves beneath a hill- 
side, on the road leading from Wallace to 
the Republican River. This was a road which 
was much frequented by hunters, and here 
they lay in ambush until their patience was 
rewarded by the appearance of a man driv- 
ing a team and wagon. The new-comer was 
Charles Brown, one of a squad of hunters, 
who had driven ahead of the others to make 
ready a camp on Smoky River, leaving the 
rest of his company a mile or two behind, 
skinning some buffalo which they had killed. 
In all unconsciousness the doomed man 
rode on, whistling and chirruping, when 
suddenly, from a bush just ahead of him, 
came a flash and a report. With a leap, he 
was off his wagon and started to run, but it 
was too late; the Indians were upon him, 
and before he had time to realize what had 
happened, another bullet laid him low — shot 
through the head. The red devils then began 



62 A MIGHTY PIUNTEE. 

going through the contents of the wagon; 
but before they had succeeded in securing 
much plunder, they were surprised by the 
appearance of Brown's party over the hill- 
side, and in a trice they were upon their 
horses' backs and riding rapidly away. 

It took the hunters some little while to 
realize what had happened, but, as soon as 
they did, they unharnessed the horses from 
the wagon and started in pursuit of their 
friend's murderers. It was too late, how- 
ever. The Indians had too good a start, and 
it was impossible to overtake them. 

While all this was taking place. Young- 
blood, in blissful ignorance of it all, was 
about three miles away, engaged in his 
favorite occupation of killing buffalo. He 
had Just finished skinning those he had shot, 
and, together with AUred, was in hot pur- 
suit of one he had wounded. The ground was 
very uneven, and as they reached the top 
of a little knoll, Youngblood's quick eye 
caught sight of signs of life below. 

"There is a herd now," he remarked to 



^?!:^rn??^^?!f?*^' , 



THE MOVE TO SMOKY EIVEE. 63 

Allred, and halted on top of the hill, ready to 
shoot as soon as the animals should come 
within range. 

It was now evening and fast growing dark, 
but he could perceive that the moving mass 
was rapidly coming toward them from the 
right. When it was some 600 yards away 
he discovered, to his surprise and alarm, that 
instead of buffalo it was a band of mounted 
men, but whether whites or red-skins the 
gathering darkness prevented him from 
making sure. The cavaliers soon perceived 
the silhouettes of the two men as they were 
clearly defined against the sky. As soon as 
they did so, they immediately dismounted 
and commenced making signs, but Young- 
blood was determined to use every precau- 
tion, and made no reply. He was in a 
thorough quandary how to proceed, but con- 
cluded it best to quietly await developments. 
Finally, one of the men mounted his horse 
again and rode slowly forward toward the 
little knoll. 

Allred was wild with excitement. 



64 A MIGHTY IIUJSTTEE. 

"It is an Indian," he exclaimed in a 
hoarse whisiDer. ' ' Shoot him ! ' ' 

Youngblood was very much inclined to 
share his companion's belief and to take his 
advice. He slowly raised his gun to his 
shoulder, but, before he could shoot, the man 
hailed him in a voice which he recognized as 
that of a white man and a friend. 

When the horseman was a little closer, he 
called out: 

"Don't shoot, Youngblood. I came near 
shooting you, but, thank heaven! I didn't." 

It was one of the band of hunters to which 
Brown had belonged, and he at once pro- 
ceeded to inform Youngblood of what had 
occurred, and asked if he would go to the 
spot where Brown had been killed, and put 
his body on the wagon so that the wolves 
would not get at it. 

Youngblood promised to do so, and he and 
Allred started off at once on their homeward 
tramp. On the way they stumbled across 
an empty powder-can, which, on examina- 
tion, Youngblood found to be one of his 



w^^^^wwyr'^-':-^ 



THE MOVE TO SMOKY KIVER. (55 

own. This discovery filled him with the 
direst forebodings, for he felt confident now 
that the red devils had been at his camp, 
stolen everything he had, and, in all proba- 
bility, killed McFerrin. 

The two men, anxious and silent, now 
hurried along as fast as they could. When 
they were nearly home, Youngblood warned 
his companion to advance as cautiously as 
possible, as he was afraid the Indians might 
have left a detachment behind to lie in wait 
for the proprietors of the camp on their 
return. So they pushed carefully on until 
they came to the hill-side where Brown had 
been killed. It was very dark now, and 
impossible to discover anything but the 
wagon, so Youngblood determined to go at 
once to camp, and return later, when the 
moon would be up, to prosecute the search 
for the body. When they arrived at a point 
about 200 yards from the camp, he ordered 
Allred to remain quietly where he was, while 
he himself would push on alone and make a 
sort of reconnaissance. 



66 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

He therefore stole ahead, making as little 
noise as possible and keeping both ears and 
eyes well open. Suddenly he perceived a 
figure standing on a little rise in the ground 
just before him. He instantly halted, with 
his eyes fixed upon the apparition and 
scarcely daring to breathe, when, to his 
intense relief, the man spoke, and in very 
low tones the welcome words reached his ear: 

"Is that you, Charlie?" 

He knew at once that it was McFerrin, and 
ran toward him, crying out to him that it 
was he and to have no alarm. 

McFerrin, who was shivering with cold 
and fright, then told him of all that had hap- 
pened since his departure; how the Indians 
had come, stolen the horses and everything 
they could lay their hand-s on, and how from 
his hiding-place in the bushes he had wit- 
nessed the killing of the teamster, but was 
utterly powerless to do anything to pre- 
vent it. 

The moon soon came up, and they went 
down the road, where they found the poor 



(3J»ll5(^l?ijr^.7Tf ty5»"»'?l^r^"'./»;«' -: 



THE MOVE TO SMOKY EIVER. 67 

fellow dead and frozen stiff. He was lying 
on his face about fifty yards from the wagon. 
There were six bullet-holes in his bt>dy, and 
the fiends had raised his scalp. It was a 
fearful sight, but Youngblood raised the 
body in his arms, threw it across his shoul- 
der, and, carrying it to the wagon, laid it 
inside where it was impossible for the wolves 
to get at it. 

This pious task accomj)lished, they re- 
turned in sorrowful silence to their depleted 
camp, where they passed a , wakeful and 
anxious night, not daring to show much 
light, for fear that the red-skins might still 
be hovering about in the vicinity. 

In the morning a squad of hunters rode up 
to the camp. Youngblood informed them 
of the raid, of which they had heard noth- 
ing, and they all then went down to the road 
where Brown's body lay. Loud and deep 
were the imprecations as they saw the mur- 
dered man, and in righteous wrath a vow 
of vengeance was sworn against the dastardly 
perpetrators of the deed. 




68 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

Brown's companions, who had been chas- 
ing the Indians all night, but who had been 
unable to catch them, returned during the 
morning. 

A council of war was held, and it was 
unanimously agreed to pursue the Indians 
without delay, and, if possible, mete out the 
fate to them that they had dealt poor Brown. 
The company altogether numbered twenty- 
six men, all armed with long-range repeating 
rifles, and each man was furnished with 
from 100 to 600 cartridges. For over 
seventy-five miles the trail was followed, 
without overtaking the foe. It was by no 
means easy traveling, and in many places 
was not unattended with danger, for the 
trail led constantly through deep and heav- 
ily wooded gorges and ravines, where it 
would have been the easiest thing in the 
world to have been taken in an ambush, and 
where everyone might have been massacred 
without the faintest opportunity for retal- 
iation. 

But the brave little band, bent on punish- 



pja^iipfip^c^'svp^jijirs™ -y " 



THE MOVE TO SMOKY RIVEE. 69 

ing the cowardly assassins, scarcely paid 
any lieed to danger, but pressed steadily on, 
in the hope of the sooner overtaking their 
human game, until their progress was re- 
tarded and finally brought to a standstill by 
a furious snow-storm. The snow fell to a 
depth of eight inches, and, besides prevent- 
ing them from keeping on their course, 
proved a serious matter in another direction, 
as they were entirely dependent on grass for 
fodder for their horses. The men themselves 
could live well enough off the abundance of 
game which they brought down with their 
guns, but there was absolutely no way now 
to provide for their steeds. 

After considerable discussion it was agreed, 
as soon as the storm abated somewhat, to 
make for Fort Wallace, where there would 
be no difficulty in obtaining provender, and 
the chase could then be resumed. The fort 
was reached without any serious mischance, 
and the commander informed of the straits 
in which the party found themselves. This 
gentleman, however, instead of, as they 



70 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

expected, at once furnishing them with suf- 
ficient feed for their horses to enable them 
to continue the pursuit, decided to first send 
a dispatch to General Pope, at Leavenworth, 
acquainting him with the facts in the case. 
The latter replied, ordering the commander 
to send fifty men and four scouts to overtake 
and deal summary punishment to the ma- 
rauders. The four scouts selected to accom- 
pany the expedition were Hank Campbell, 
Louis Allred, Bill Peach, and, to his great 
satisfaction, our old friend Youngblood him- 
self. 

The trail was taken up at the point the 
first band left it when they struck off for 
Fort Douglas. It was not long before they 
met with success. They had proceeded only a 
few miles, when one of the soldiers cried out: 

"See! There is a herd of buffalo over 
yonder." 

The captain of the company unslung his 
field-glass, and, after examining the herd 
carefully for a few moments, lowered the 
glass, with a laugh. 



ipppppff 



!^^fi'ISX'^,f?ffT^TT<^yy-T^^^ 



THE MOVE TO SMOKY RIVER. 71 

' ' There they are, boys, ' ' he said. ' ' If you 
want game, there's plenty of it. They are 
Indians, and well armed, too." 

A halt was immediately ordered, the boxes 
containing cartridges were opened, and each 
man told to take as many as he could carry. 
The Captain continued to watch the enemy 
through his glass, and soon perceived that 
they had discovered the neighborhood of the 
soldiers, and were busily engaged in massing 
their forces and making other preparations 
for the attack. He hastily commanded his 
men to get into marching line — the teams 
were left under guard — and the company 
moved forward to meet the foe. The ground 
was smooth and level for about two miles, 
and the soldiers dashed on at a gallop until 
within about half a mile of where the Indians 
were drawn up, when the chief raised a flag 
of truce, and a moment after was seen ap- 
proaching, followed by four of his men. 

At a word of command from the Captain, 
the cavalry reined in their foaming horses 
and halted, to see what would be the upshot 



72 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

of the proceeding. When the Indians had 
advanced to within a few hundred yards, the 
Captain detailed two men to go out and meet 
them and inquire their business. No sooner, 
however, were they face to face, than the 
red-skins surrounded them. Suspecting 
treachery, the Captain immediately put 
spurs to his horse and galloped forward, 
followed by all his men. 

A long talk then ensued, but with no sat- 
isfactory result, for the Indians persistently 
and obstinately refused to understand any- 
thing that was said to them. During the 
parley, one of them carelessly, and as if by 
accident, allowed his horse to carry him 
away a few paces, and rode into a ravine, 
where he sat with only the upper part of his 
face visible, intently watching every move- 
ment that took place. 

As it became evident that it was hopelessly 
impossible to obtain anything in the slightest 
degree satisfactory from a parley with the 
chief, the Captain determined to take him 
and his followers prisoners. Eight men cov- 



pawpjfiCTr j»?r»^j»'^v:---i '^v 



THE MOVE TO SMOKY EIVEE. 73 

ered them with, their guns, while they were 
forced to give, up their arms. As soon as the 
one in the ravine saw what had taken place, 
he made a bolt of it, keeping himself covered 
by the rocks in the defile as long as he could, 
and then hurrying away at full gallop to the 
hill, behind which the band of Indians were 
waiting. 

As the Indians were greatly superior in 
numbers, equally well armed, and, moreover, 
held much the advantage in position, the 
captain of the soldiers, after some little 
deliberation, came to the conclusion that it 
would be imprudent, not to say foolhardy, 
to attack them where they were; so he en- 
deavored, by all sorts of artifices, to induce 
them to abandon their intrenched position, 
but the wily savages refused to be inveigled, 
and obstinately held their ground. 

The Captain did not dare to order his men 
to fire upon them at random, as they had 
with them two German girls, whom they had 
abducted some time before, after murdering 
the rest of the family, and he knew that, at 




74 A MIGHTY HUNTEK. 

that distance, a bullet was quite as likely 
to strike tkem. as an Indian. So, after 
some furtlier maneuvering, which was 
equally fruitless, he decided, with great re- 
luctance, that it would be best to return 
with the four prisoners to Fort Wallace, 
report the state of the case to the post com- 
mander, and leave him to deal with the 
situation a^ he should deem best. 

The four Indians were, accordingly, placed 
under a strong guard behind the wagons, 
and the march back was begun. The cold 
was intense; a keen, raw, bitter wind swept 
over the prairie, each blast of which seemed 
to freeze the very marrow in the bones of the 
shivering soldiers. Although they had over- 
coats, overshoes, and mittens, more than one 
finger, ear, or nose was frozen before the ride 
was over. The power of endurance exhibited 
by the Indians, who were half naked, during 
this trying journey to the fort, struck 
Youngblood as little short of marvelous, and 
filled him with amazement. They really did 
not seem to suffer at all from the piercing 



i 



p^:'f7^^'^fli??^f'7i:v^:'^= 



THE MOVE TO SMOKY EIVEE. 75 

cold, and they, too, were under the disad- 
vantage of being compelled to ride all the 
way, while the white men could dismount 
from time to time, and, by tramping about, 
stir their sluggish blood into circulation 
once more. 

When the fort was finally reached, the 
post doctor, who examined the red-skins, 
declared that their exposure to the cold had 
not harmed them in the slightest degree, 
and this, in spite of the fact that their 
feet were covered with moccasins only and 
that they had very little clothing on their 
bodies. 

Just before the fort was reached, one of the 
prisoners made a sudden dash to escape, and 
would have succeeded in doing so had not a 
shot brought him down. The others were 
turned over to Colonel Hanbright, the com- 
mander. 

Youngblood did not remain with the 
troops long enough to know the ultimate fate 
of the rascals, or whether any further at- 
tempt was made to punish the rest of the 



'^n'^'Tv^ 



76 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

band and rescue the German girls in their 
hands, for he happened to fall in with a 
man named Riley, who owned a good team 
of horses, and was anxious to have some 
shooting. Youngblood, therefore, formed a 
combination with him, and forthwith started 
out on another hunt. 



♦)"2?^-7?^ .^"'■•'^■'^v " ■ : <■ 



CHAPTER VI. 

GREAT LUCK— RED-SKINS AGAIN— SOME OF 
THEM DIE SUDDENLY— A GHASTLY BELT- 
HOW THE INDIANS CONDUCT BUFEALO- 
jjUNTS — THE DELIGHTS OF BEING A SQUAW 
— INDIAN TORTURE, ETC. 

For about four weeks Youngblood and 
Ms new companion hunted tlie buffalo with 
unvarying success, killing and drying during 
this time over 100. 

After this the game migrated and moved 
about 100 miles east to the heads of several 
streams, viz.: Saline, Sappy, Prairie Dog, 
Beaver, and Big Timber. Our hunters fol- 
lowed them, and secured great numbers. 

Here they chanced to meet three other 
men, who joined them, increasing their num- 
ber to five. 

One day they took the team and sallied 
forth after buffalo, leaving one of their num- 
ber to guard the camp and smoke the meat. 
err) 



.■■ff:^^^TO 



78 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

He had wandered out a little distance to col- 
lect firewood, and hearing a noise in the 
camp he hurried back, supposing that his 
friends had returned, and wondering what 
could have caused them to come back in such 
a very short time. But, instead of the hunt- 
ers, what was his horror and amazement to 
stumble upon fourteen red-skins, who were 
busily employed in appropriating everything 
that was within their reach. They had capt- 
ured ^his gun, and the moment he appeared 
they fired upon him, but fortunately with- 
out touching him. The man, taken by sur- 
prise as he was, ran for dear life. Several of 
the thieves started after him and pursued 
him into a ravine. 

He knew the direction the hunting-party 
had taken, and recognized that his only hoi)e 
was in overtaking them. Luckily they had 
not gone far from camp, and as soon as 
the red -skins perceived them, they stopped 
short in the pursuit of their intended victim 
and beat a hasty retreat. They probably 
did not think it wise to return to the camp, 



GEEAT LUCK. 79 

but Joined the rest of the band on Sappy 
Eiver, where the next day, as Youngblood 
graphically put it, thirty-seven of them 
" died very suddenly." One of the Indians 
that met this sad fate was a chief. After the 
fight was over, while they were examining 
the bodies, one of the white hunters discov- 
ered a sort of roll tied to this chief's side. 
He unloosened it, and, holding it up in 
bewilderment, asked his friends what it 
could be. They examined it, and discovered, 
to their horrified indignation, that it was a 
dressed buckskin cape, profusely ornamented 
with white women's scalps. 

This is only one example out of many simi- 
lar incidents, and yet there are still to be 
found many people who exclaim in their 
mingled sentimentality and ignorance, "Alas! 
the poor Indian!" and bestow upon him any 
amount of misplaced pity, which is painfully 
absurd to anyone who has known intimately 
the object of their solicitude. 

Any old scout will tell you that his 
acquaintance with our "red brother" does 



80 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

not reveal in him any trait of either character 
or disposition which is in any degree worthy 
of respect. It is, of course, beyond question 
a fact that he has been at times maltreated, 
but this is no reason why we should be 
blinded to what he really is — naturally lazy, 
cruel, and vindictive, and a perfect type of 
treachery, never acting in good faith, except 
when he knows it is for his own advantage 
to do so. Mercy is a virtue of which the 
Indian has not the faintest conception, and 
the truth is never known to fall from his lips 
when a lie can be made to answer. In two 
words, he can only be described as a verita- 
ble demon, who has no humane sentiment, 
who will spare nothing, neither age nor sex, 
who scorns all law, and whose chief delight 
is to ruthlessly murder, burn, and ravage. 

The little scrimmage narrated above oc- 
curred in April, 1876, and until the fall of 
the same year, Youngblood and his friends 
hunted peacefully without any further mo- 
lestation from the red devils, who for a long 
time had a salutary and terrifying remem- 



!«^.5^:?7?«if.";"r 



GREAT LTJCK. 81 

brance of the white man's long-range repeat- 
ing rifles. 

During this summer, a band, of Ute 
Indians came on a hunting expedition into 
the neighborhood where Youngblood was, 
and he had an excellent opportunity of 
observing their manner of hunting and kill- 
ing the buffalo. 

The first thing they do is to select a place 
for a camp, if possible near some stream, so 
as to be within easy distance of fuel and 
water. The site once chosen, the squaws, 
who are invariably compelled to perform all 
the drudgery, proceed to unpack the goods 
and chattels, put up the tents, care for the 
horses, draw water, collect firewood, and, in 
fact, make things comfortable generally for 
their lords and masters, who meanwhile loll 
luxuriously upon the grass in some shady 
place, and smoke their pipes in full ease and 
contentment of mind and body. When the 
camp is all in order, one Indian is sent out 
to seek for a herd of buffalo, and when he 
has found one, he returns to camp and 



;;-.'»^w^ 



82 A MIGHTY HUJSTTER. 

reports Ms success. Then the squaws make 
ready the horses, the men and boys mount 
their ponies, and the procession is formed, 
the women bringing up the rear, driving the 
pack-horses, and furnished with knives, with 
which to dress the game that the men kill. 

A band of Indians mounted and equipped 
for a buffalo-chase presents a decidedly 
unique and interesting appearance. Their 
ponies are scrawny looking little things, and 
many of them are so small that the feet of 
the rider nearly reach the ground. In spite 
of his size and appearance, however, the 
pony is by no means to be despised; there 
are emphatically, to use an expressive vul- 
garism, no flies upon him; he makes up in 
grit and endurance for his lack of beauty, 
and he will carry a rider or a heavy pack 
much farther in a day than an ordinary horse 
could possibly do. The Indian saddle is a 
mechanical curiosity. It is manufactured of 
two forked sticks, one behind and one before, 
held apart by two pieces of board, one on 
either side, and with straps of buckskin run- 



IBIP?PWfl!>5T«J5!5.«W4Tv»^ 



Kp".*ArT'T»r'»v?!!vw 



GEEAT LUCK. 83 

ning lengthwise; the boards are placed below 
the sticks, and rest upon the horse's back, 
while the buckskin straps are on top, form- 
ing a comfortable seat for the cavalier. Still, 
although this saddle is an easy one for the 
rider, it is frequently severe on the pony, 
for the boards are generally very roughly 
finished, and it is no unusual thing to see 
the pony's back so lacerated by them that 
the bone is in places perfectly bare and 
exposed. This is of no consequence to the 
Indian, however, for he shows no more mercy 
to his horse than he does to his squaw, and 
so long as he rides comfortably it is a matter 
of supreme indifference to him what his pony 
may be suffering, and he will even beat him 
for flinching and "giving down" under the 
pain inflicted by one of these instruments of 
torture. 

A vast deal of importance is attached to 
the ceremonies which are gone through with 
to propitiate Fortune and bring good luck to 
the chase; and, to a person who sees them 
for the first time, the performance of these 



84 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

rites is almost as mucli of a sight as a first- 
class circus. As soon as they get as close to 
a herd as they deem it safe, they dismount 
and begin the performance, which consists of 
a vast deal of tomfoolery. When a white 
man has discovered his herd, he pitches right 
in and gets dovni to business at once, but 
nothing could induce an Indian to fire a shot 
until he has religiously gone through with 
each one of the rites suitable to the occasion, 
and which are his inheritance from time 
immemorial. He falls upon his knees and 
tepeats long prayers, invoking the aid of the 
deity of the chase; then follows an exceed- 
ingly polite address to the buffalo, in which 
it is told that if it will be so kind as not to 
run away, it shall receive some tobacco, a 
piece of which each Indian forthwith buries 
in the ground; he then pulls his horse's tail, 
whispers in its ear, and ties eagle feathers in 
its tail to lend it speed. Sometimes a dog is 
killed, cooked, and eaten. After all this and 
frequently much more has been gone through 
with, and a certainty of good luck thereby 



p^ ij; ^ IJi w^M H j i!JP!!y | i|[g^^ 



GREAT LUCK. 85 

secured, the liunters mount their ponies and 
speed off to the herd, which, if not frightened 
away by the powwow, has ail this, time been 
quietly grazing on the prairie. As soon as 
the foe appears bearing down upon them, 
however, the buffalo take the alarm, and, in 
their affright, very frequently rush in a mass 
directly toward the hunters; but when within 
a short distance, they stop short, turn sud- 
denly, and dash away with a deafening bel- 
lowing in the opx)osite direction. 

The moment the buffalo turn is the signal 
for the attack, and immediately the Indians, 
with the wildest of yells imaginable, bear 
down upon them with bows and arrows, 
spears and guns, and the slaughter com- 
mences. Those who have guns ride to one 
side of the fleeing herd, and keeping parallel 
to them, load and fire as fast as they can, 
bringing down a buffalo at almost every shot; 
at the same time those with spears and simi- 
lar weapons ride directly into the midst of 
the herd, and ' forcing their ponies almost 
against one of the animals, thrust their spears 



86 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

into some vital part. Those with, bows and 
arrows also dash into the herd, and drop- 
ping the bridles, allow their ponies to follow 
their own heads, while they make use of both 
hands, shooting arrows first into one buffalo 
and then another. These arrows, three or 
four of which are shot into each animal, are 
generally tipped with pieces of saw-blade, on 
the edges of which is cut a fine beard, which 
causes them to work inward as the animal 
runs. The slaughter is often kept up until 
every one of the herd is slain. In the hunt 
which Youngblood had the good fortune to 
witness, 110 were killed in a space of some- 
thing less than a quarter of an hour. 

When the hunt is over, the squaws pro- 
ceed to dress the meat and pack it upon the 
horses, while the men enjoy a siesta, smok- 
ing, laughing, and boasting of their various 
exploits. When everything is ready for 
departure, the men mount their ponies and 
ride gaily back to camp, the women follow- 
ing more slowly, driving the horses, which 
have been laden with the flesh and hides. 



GEEAT LUCK. 87 

Though, it is the custom of the Indians to 
use arrows with bearded tips for hunting 
purposes, they employ an entirely. dUfferent 
one when on the war-path. This latter 
species they poison in some way, so that they 
are almost certain to cause death, or, at all 
events, to make a very ugly sore. It is said 
that the method is to take a piece of meat, 
and by goading a rattlesnake to anger, cau^e 
it to drive its fangs into the meat, and thereby 
impregnate it with its venom. The meat is 
then left to putrefy and become thoroughly 
permeated with the poison, and the arrows 
are then plunged into the deadly mass. 
These poisoned arrows are kept carefully 
apart from those destined for hunting pur- 
poses. 

The wars between the different Indian 
tribes are almost incessant, and more of them 
are killed in this way than by white men. 
In their wars with each other the most ter- 
rible ferocity and most relentless cruelty 
are exhibited, and those that are taken pris- 
oners are invariably put to the torture. 



88 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

One of Youngblood' s friends, named Van 
Meter, once witnessed this torture of pris- 
oners, while among the Ogallah- Sioux 
Indians, and his description of it is most 
appalling. 

The Ogallahs were on the war-path, and 
one day, in a slight skirmish with the Crows, 
they succeeded in taking one of the latter 
captive, a warrior about twenty years of age. 
Preparations were at once made for the 
administration of the torture. The young 
Crow was first stripped and bound to a 
wagon- wheel, Avhile a large pine plank was 
shaved into small splinters. An Ogallah 
warrior was then selected as executioner, and 
the rest prej^ared to perform the war-dance 
about their victim. The one chosen to ai3ply 
the torture took a knife, and taking up a 
piece of the prisoner's flesh between his 
thumb and finger, cut a deep gash in it, and 
thrust into the wound thus made a bunch 
of pine splinters, which he then set on fire 
and allowed to burn out. As soon as one 
set of splinters had died out, another was 



'^'P*!fepW«''l-# 



f^T^7^Wf[.w.'r^':>y'y^Tf' 



GEE AT LUCK. 89 

inserted as before, but in a fresh gash. This 
was continued until the miserable youth's 
skin was burned to a crisp all over his body. 
Notwithstanding the intolerable agony he 
must have suffered, he never uttered a cry, 
nor exhibited any signs of pain, but, to all 
intents and purposes, appeared more uncon- 
cerned than most people would in simply 
witnessing such torture. While this was 
going on, the Ogallahs kept up an incessant 
weird and unearthly dance, circling round 
and round about their victim with fiendish 
yells and cries, and every now and then mak- 
ing as if to strike him with their spears and 
tomahawks. When his flesh was completely 
charred, and he was almost dead, he was 
tomahawked and scalped. Horrible as this 
whole description sounds, the proceeding is 
of very frequent occurrence among the 
Indians. In this respect they are apt to be 
more cruel toward each other than toward 
the whites, although more than one innocent 
white man has sufEered terrible torture at 
their cruel hands. 



5HR(ffl3^???l?s!!^P!?P«iwv^^ 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE LEGEND OP THE "WHITE WOMAN" — 
A NIGHT WITH WOLVES — BLACK-TAILED 
DEER — PANTHERS AND MOUNTAIN LIONS — 
BACK TO THE PLAINS. 

Youngblood's next camping-xDlace was 
Silver Lake, situated in a large canebrake 
near the head of Pawnee River, between that 
stream and " White Woman " Creek, He 
was absolutely forced from his former hunt- 
ing-grounds, because the Indians had chased 
all the buffalo away. It is no uncommon 
thing for them to drive them, on horseback, 
as far as 200 miles. 

"White Woman" Creek, his new stamp- 
ing-ground, was named by the Indians, and, 
as usual with Indian nomenclature, had a 
real reason for its title. Some years pre- 
vious, a woman named Harn was captured 
by the Indians, and taken away prisoner. 
During the course of their journey they 

(91) 



92 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

camped for a niglit on the banks of this 
creek, but before they left the next morn- 
ing they ontraged the poor woman, drove a 
stake through her body, and left her there; 
hence the name of the stream. It is some- 
times called " Suffering Woman; " and in an 
account of a fight which Colonel Lewis had 
with the Indians on this creek, in which 
Lewis and five of his men were killed, it is 
called " Spanish Woman," but among all 
frontiersmen it is known as ' ' White 
Woman." 

Between Pawnee River and "White 
Woman" Creek was a long extent of very 
flat, low country, full of large lakes and 
dense canebrakes. In his camp at Silver 
Lake, Youngblood was entirely alone. He 
had brought no one with him, and his only 
company in the midst of the big, dreary 
swamp, were buffalo and antelope by day, 
and at night wolves, who evinced a much 
stronger predilection for the hunter's society 
than he did for theirs. The wolves had been 
in the habit of subsisting chiefly upon the 



W^^^^m"^- 



LEGEND OF THE "WHITE WOMAN." 93 

carcasses of the buffalo left by the hunters, 
who had killed them for their hides; and as 
it was now late in October, and no . hunters 
had been in the locality for some time, the 
wolves had become fierce and ravenous, and 
were ready to attack anything — horses, and 
even men. 

One day Youngblood had been out hunt- 
ing, and had succeeded, after a long day's 
tramp, in killing one buffalo late in the after- 
noon. As it was rapidly growing dark, and 
as there was danger of his losing his way if 
he attempted to find his camp, he determined 
to remain where he was for the night. He 
moved his wagon close to where the buffalo 
lay, made his bed upon the ground, and 
spread the hide of the buffalo over him, with 
the wooly side down. He had hardly closed 
his eyes, however, before the wolves, at- 
tracted by the scent of the freshly killed 
meat, began gathering from all the neighbor- 
ing thickets. They soon devoured the buf- 
falo, with low growlings and sharp cracklings 
of their teeth, which were anything but 



94 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

pleasant sounds to tlie recumbent hunter, 
who began to think that they might make 
their dessert off of him. His gun was in the 
wagon, a,nd he did not dare to rise and make 
the attempt to possess himself of it. Some 
of the wolves became so bold that they vent- 
ured close to where he lay, and began to pull 
and tug at the hide which served him as a 
quilt. This was decidedly alarming, but by 
singing and shouting he managed to frighten 
them away, until, gorged by their meal, they 
decided to leave him in peace. 

Youngblood remained at Silver Lake for 
about a month, meeting with very fair suc- 
cess as regards the amount of game killed, 
but finding it very difficult to obtain a market 
for the meat. After being alone all this 
time, he fell in with a man named Fred Arm- 
strong, who declared that he was a "regular 
world-beater " at killing buffalo and deer, 
and urged his new acquaintance to go back 
with him into the mountains, which he said 
were teeming with black-tailed deer. Young- 
blood fi.nally allowed himself to be persuaded, 



??l!^'7?^»'!T^in!?W:T!*(f1^ 



LEGEND OF THE "WHITE WOMAIST." 95 

although this necessitated a journey of over 
200 miles. Their way lay through a barren 
sort of country where game was very scarce, 
and their stock of provisions, of which they 
had taken only a scanty supply, got so low 
that the question of subsistence soon became 
a very serious one. Although there was no 
game, there was plenty of cattle about 
belonging to the different ranches; and finally, 
in despair, Armstrong declared that he was 
going to shoot a calf, and selected a yearling 
which had become separated from the herd. 
Before he could raise his gun, however, three 
cow-boys suddenly appeared around a little 
hillock. 

" Good Lord!" whispered Armstrong, 
"I'm glad I didn't shoot, for they would 
have been onto us before the calf had quit 
kicking." 

Luckily for him, however, the cow-boys did 
not guess his intentions, but rode along with 
the two hunters to a spring, near which they 
said there were plenty of deer to be found. 

Here they camped for the night, and the 



96 A MIGHTY HUNTEK, 

next morning, early, before liis companion 
was up, Youngblood started fortli with his 
gun to try his luck. 

He had not gone more than a quarter of a 
mile before he saw that the cow-boys had 
spoken the truth; there were plenty of tracks, 
and he at once began to keep a sharp look- 
out for deer. 

Stealing cautiously up a hill, he i^eered 
over the top, and, to his immense satisfaction 
and delight, saw four deer walking single 
file along a cow-path. He aimed at the fore- 
most one, which was a fine doe, and at the 
crack of his gun she sank to the ground, and 
the second and third followed in quick suc- 
cession, each brought down by a single shot. 
The fourth was a lordly buck, which came 
running up the bluff to the spot where the 
hunter was; but the latter was ready for him, 
and once more "old poison-slinger " got in 
its work. 

As it was impossible for him to transport 
the booty himself, Youngblood returned to 
the camp, where Armstrong still lay in the 



LEGEND OF THE " WHITE WOMAI^." 97 

arms of Morpheus. He did not awaken him, 
but, taking a horse, went back to where the 
deer were and loaded three of them on its 
back. 

On his way back he met Armstrong, who 
rubbed his eyes in amazement, saying: 
"Hello! If that's your way of doing things, 
I guess I'll have to go back on what I said 
about being a world-beater." But when he 
heard that there was a big buck besides, he 
began to think that Youngblood knew some- 
thing about hunting, too, and he acknowl- 
edged that he had been gotten ahead of in 
great shape, and he would have to yield his. 
title to his companion. 

The two men remained together for some- 
thing over two months, and as during that 
time Youngblood averaged about six deer 
to Armstrong's one, he ceased to take any 
stock in the latter' s claim to be a "world- 
beater." The opinion of each as to the 
other's prowess received a rather amusing 
illustration during the stay of a visitor they 
happened to have at the camp. This visitor, 



98 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

in the course of conversation with Arm- 
strong, happened to ask him what sort of a 
hunter Youngblood was. Armstrong's reply 
was that he was a poor shot, but the luckiest 
killer he ever saw in his life. A short time 
afterward he went to Youngblood and asked 
his opinion of Armstrong. "Well," was 
the response, " he is a first-rate hunter, but 
about the worst killer that I was ever ac- 
quainted with. ' ' At this the visitor laughed 
heartily, in which merriment he was joined 
by the other two, as soon as its cause was 
explained. 

But it was not long before Youngblood 
found that, in addition to the deer, there 
were, in the mountains, other and much 
more formidable animals, panthers and 
mountain lions, which, in fact, are almost 
always to be met with in places frequented 
by deer, on which they chiefly subsist. Their 
plan of stalking their game is to climb a tree 
which has a limb extending over some path 
used by the deer, or to conceal themselves 
behind something near this path, and then, 



WS^Sf^fJ^fTiWTf^-SJf'''^^^^ 



LEGEND OF THE " WHITE WOMAN." 99 

when the deer passes under or near them, 
they spring upon and kill it. The blood 
they are particularly fond of, and they com- 
monly tear open the throats of the victims, 
and eagerly lap up the fluid as it flows warm 
from the veins. They eat the flesh also, and 
are so strong that they can carry away a 
full-sized deer. 

Youngblood one day fired at and 
wounded a deer; but as he was pursuing it, 
he came upon a large drove, so he concluded 
to leave the wounded one and come back and 
seek for it later. This, however, he was 
unable to do until the next morning, and 
taking up the trail where he had left it the 
previous day, he had only followed it for a 
short distance when he came to a place 
where he perceived unmistakable evidences 
of a desperate struggle. After a careful 
examination, he came to the conclusion that 
the wounded deer had been attacked and car- 
ried off by some animal or other. Curious to 
know more about it, he continued to follow 
the trail, which was by no means a difiicult 



JfV^'^J/s^-fi 



100 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

thing to do, as the hair of the deer had been 
rubbed off against the stones and twigs, and 
everywhere there were fresh traces of blood. 
When he had proceeded about half a mile, 
he stumbled upon the entrails of the deer 
lying upon the ground. To his astonish- 
ment, these entrails were not torn to pieces, 
but, on the contrary, were entire, as if some 
skillful hunter had cut them out with his 
knife. He then began to look cautiously 
around to discover the cause of this phenom- 
enon, when suddenly, just in front of him, 
about twenty paces off, a mountain lion 
darted into view, and, before he had time to 
aim, disappeared into a neighboring thicket. 
He fired, however, but ajDparently without 
hitting it, for there was no result but a loud 
roar, and the crunching of the branches as a 
heavy body passed through them. He 
waited for some time, hoping that the lion 
would return; but in this he was disap- 
pointed, for the beast, gorged with its prey, 
had probably gone off into the thicket for an 
after-dinner snooze. 



•W!Tif^^.^t'r:^^'^;,r»^T:vt^?*7* ■> "^^^^ 



LEGEND OF THE " WHITE WOMAN." 101 

Even more numerous and dangerous than 
the mountain lions are the panthers, and 
when there was fresh meat in the camp they 
would yell frightfully all night long. To 
anyone not used to it, their screams have a 
horrible sound, and are a most effectual 
sleep-dispeller; but once accustomed to it, 
Youngblood found that he paid no more 
attention to them than he would to the hoots 
of the night-owl in Indiana. 

Until the snow began to melt, and the 
deer to disappear, as they always do when 
the snow has gone, our two hunters remained 
in the mountains. As Youngblood did not 
care to follow the migration of the game, he 
concluded to go back to the plains, and try 
his luck once more at buffalo. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

BACK TO KANSAS — AT ODDS— THE BITER BIT 
— EMIGRANTS ON A HUNT — INDIANS, NOT 
BIIFFALO. 

After the deer left tlie mountains, Young- 
blood went back to Kansas, about 200 miles 
east on the Arkansas River, to a point not 
far from the head of Pawnee River, in 
Buffalo County. With the skill he had 
acquired, he could now kill all the buffalo 
he wanted to, so he needed no assistance in 
that way; but the trouble had been to find 
a means to get the meat to market. He 
therefore hired three men, none of whom 
were hunters, to transport the fruits of his 
rifle. 

They took up their quarters on Alkali 
Lake, and all went well for a time. But it 
was not long before Youngblood discovered 
that his three men were not destined to live 
in amity together; in fact, there were only 

(103) 



104 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

too unmistakable signs that there was bad 
blood between them. For some reason or 
other, two of them evidently bore a strong 
grudge against the other, and were continu- 
ally imposing upon him, losing no oppor- 
tunity to taunt and insult him. Things 
began to look pretty threatening, when a cer- 
tain incident, at all events, prevented the 
shedding of blood, for the one so annoyed 
had frequently threatened to kill the other 
two, and had even asked Youngblood to 
lend him his gun, having already provided 
himself with cartridges. 

All four were out one day, when they 
struck a large herd of buffalo. Foreseeing 
that he was likely to have severe work 
ahead of him, and that his pocket-book might 
get lost, Youngblood handed it to the team- 
ster to keep for him until the hunt should be 
over. The man and the pocket-book he 
never saw again, for no sooner was he out of 
his sight than the teamster jumped into the 
wagon and drove off. When Youngblood 
returned to camp that night, and found 



mr-sii^'^'.^'W^'^-i^'^'^'^^^^ 



BACK TO KANSAS. 105 

the man missing, lie saw at once what it all 
meant, and consulted with the other men. 
They asked to be allowed to take another 
team and wagon, and to go in pursuit of the 
fugitive. To this their master finally con- 
sented, and drove them to the nearest rail- 
way station. They formed a correct guess 
as to the direction the thief was likely to 
take, headed him off, and finally captured 
him and took him to Las Animas, in Col- 
orado. Here they brought him before a 
justice of the peace, and, with supreme ef- 
frontery, one of them swore that the team, 
which really belonged to the runaway, was 
his, and proved it by the affidavit of the 
other. The magistrate remanded the pris- 
oner to jail, and turned over the horses and 
wagon, together with the pocket-book, to his 
captors. These latter returned his own 
proi3erty to Youngblood, but kept the team 
for themselves, while they left the thief to 
languish in jail until his case was called, 
when he was discharged, as there was no one 
to appear against him. 



• -~}wf?. 



106 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

Soon after this incident, Youngblood went 
to Sherlock with a load of meat. Here he 
found a large number of emigrants, most of 
whom were provided with good teams, and 
some he found anxious to go out on a hunt. 
He proposed to give them half the meat if 
they would haul it in to market, and he ex- 
perienced no difficulty in finding several 
persons who were willing to accept this offer. 
So he started out with three teams, ten 
men, and three women, all inspired with the 
eager desire to see something of a sort of life 
far different from anything to which they had 
been accustomed. After proceeding for 
about twenty-five miles, they found a place 
to camp for the night, and while the men 
were making the necessary preparations and 
the women busied themselves in getting sup- 
per, Youngblood sallied forth and shot a 
buffalo. The whole company went into 
ecstasies over the tenderloins, which were 
soon fried and ready for distribution. 

The next morning they moved on, as the 
women complained of the alkali water. 




I;7S?7'-^'t'>!'!^!*'t^'^"*^^^^^ 



BACK TO KANSAS. 107 

When they reached a good spring, about ten 
miles off, they found, camped near it, a band 
of Indians, who, however, fled on the ap- 
proach of the white men, and so hastily that 
they left their meat roasting before the fire. 
In spite of this, however, the emigrants were 
so frightened that they could not be per- 
suaded to remain long enough to get a drink, 
but, wheeling their wagons around, they 
started for Sherlock at a sweeping trot, 
looking around every few minutes, as if they 
expected to see an army of painted demons 
thirsting for their blood and hankering for 
scalps. Youngblood was so disgusted with 
them that he made little effort to turn them 
from their determination or pacify their silly 
fright, but let them continue on their retreat 
to Sherlock, which they reached in safety, 
without the slightest injury to any of them. 
Youngblood did not remain long in the 
town, but, in company with another man, 
went off to his old hunting-ground, the 
source of the Pawnee River. While here, 
they were driving one day along the bank of 



i 



108 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

the river, where the bluffs rose beside them 
to a considerable height, when, on looking 
over, our hunter saw something which he 
took for a herd of buffalo that had come 
down to the water to drink. He jumped 
from the wagon, and ran down the bluffs to 
where he could see the tops of their humps. 
As he was going at full speed, he suddenly 
ran into a gang of squaws, who were guard- 
ing a lot of horses. He then recognized that 
what he had taken for buffalo were Indians, 
crawling up the small ridge which over- 
looked the spot where he was. He saw that 
he was in a close place, and, not stopping to 
ask any questions, he hurried back to the 
wagon and informed his companion of what 
he had discovered. The latter was in a ter- 
rible fright, and asked tremblingly if there 
was any danger of the red-skins coming after 
them. Youngblood, who had had too many 
experiences of this kind to feel very anxious, 
replied coolly: 

"Well, if they do, we can kill as many of 
them as they do of us." 



fl^p^^^^?^:^>py(^-VW]^-;^j;}m^'r^ ; 



BACK TO KANSAS. 109 

This seemed but poor consolation to the 
other, however, who did not see how that 
would be any comfort to a dead man. 

While still discussing the Indians, a herd 
of buffalo came in sight. They killed four, 
and, loading the meat upon the wagon, drove 
to Pierceville, the nearest station, where 
they found a company of soldiers, who had 
come in search of the Indians they had seen. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE soldiers' LAGGING CHASE OF INDIAITS 
— ALL DRESS -PAEADE AND NO SENSE — A 
GREENY CATCHES A BUFFALO CALF — "HELP 
ME TO LET IT GO." 

The soldiers, commanded by a Captain 
Payne, were under orders to overhaul a 
band of eighty Indians who were reported to 
have crossed the Kansas Pacific Railroad, 
near Monument Station, and who were evi- 
dently bent on mischief. As soon as the Cap-, 
tain heard that a hunter had arrived in town 
from the plains, he sent for Youngblood, 
and the following colloquy took place: 

"Have you seen any Indians?" 

"Yes, a large band." 

"When?" 

"This morning." 

' ' Where were they?' ' 

"Near the head of Pawnee River." 

(Ill) 



■'Ty? 



112 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

' ' Will you go with ns and help us find 
theml" 

Youngblood laughed, 

" What do you want to find them for?" he 
asked. "Are you going to take them some 
blankets?" 

' ' No, by G— d, ' ' was the emphatic response, 
"I am not. We have some pills for them, 
and if you are a good hand to see that the 
medicine is properly administered, you can 
have a chance. Can you go?" 

Youngblood considered a moment. 

" Well," he said at last, "there is nothing 
to prevent my doing so that I know of, but I 
am getting tired of chasing Indians under 
officers who won't let us hurt them after 
we've caught them." 

" Just give me a trial." 

" Well, if you will promise to take no pris- 
oners and not let one of them escape, I'll go; 
but if there' s going to be any fooling about 
it, you can count me out." 

"All right," said the Captain, laughing. 
"Come along!" 



Kf^JSBfJJ?-'; 



soldiers' chase of INDIANS. ' 113 

Orders to mount were at once given, the 
start was soon made, and within four hours 
they reached the place where Youngblood 
had seen the Indians. They had departed, 
but evidently only a short time before, as 
their camp-fires were still burning. The trail 
showed that they had gone down the bed of 
the Pawnee River. It still wanted two hours 
to sunset, and it would have been easy to 
have made ten or twelve miles more before 
darkness set in; but, to Youngblood' s infinite 
disgust, the Captain, after surveying the 
ground, said: "Well, we might as well camp 
here for the night," which was equivalent to 
saying: "We will give them all the chance 
we can to get away." 

It was fully 10 o'clock the next morning 
before the Captain was ready to start, and 
even then he brought his men out on dress- 
parade, as if they were some militia regiment 
camping out for the fun of the thing. His 
command consisted of two companies, who 
had been piloted from Fort Wallace by an 
old buffalo-hunter named Sam Shrike, a 



114 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

good man, and one who would have been both 
able and willing to have done his part, if the 
Captain had shown more sense and energy. 
There were also a train of four six-horse 
teams, an ambulance, and a surgeon. The 
latter called forth a grim smile from our hero, 
as he did not see any chance of his services 
being called into requisition, unless one of the 
men should meet with some accident on dress- 
parade. 

A fresh start was finally made, however, 
and after marching down the river bank a 
few miles it became necessary to cross to the 
other side, which caused further delay, more 
than four hours being wasted in cutting down 
the banks so that the wagons could be taken 
over. But a short distance after crossing 
the river they came to a spot which the Cap- 
tain thought would make a good place to 
camp, so he ordered a halt, and said, as they 
might not find another location so suitable to 
their purpose, they would lay off there for 
the rest of the day. The next morning there 
was another dress-parade, and the sun was 



F'OT^w^l!?!^*v)T?*^-P?'TOp^ ,""■ 



soldiers' chase of INDIANS. 115 

high in the heavens before the line of march 
was resumed. They went about twenty miles 
down the river, and crossed back at the mouth 
of a stream called Buckner Creek, where they 
struck a beaver dam, where the water was 
about eight feet deep. Here one of the sol- 
diers dismounted, threw out a fish-line, and 
soon caught a fine lot of fish, which was the 
occasion of great excitement, as it promised 
a good supper. The horses were turned 
loose, and the troop rested until noon the 
next day, when, after the customary dress- 
parade, the Captain directed his course toward 
Fort Dodge, which was reached in safety 
without the loss of a man, and with no reason 
to call upon the services of either surgeon or 
ambulance. Here, after four days' aimless 
journeying, Youngblood received his dis- 
charge, and returned to Pierceville. This 
Indian chase is a fair sample of the manner 
in which government troops are in the habit 
of hunting red-skins. One old hunter is, 
every time, worth more than a dozen sol- 
diers. 



116 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

On his return to Pierceville, Youngblood 
found tliat one of his horses had been bitten 
by a snake and was of no further use, but he 
managed to find among the emigrants a man 
who owned a good team and who was willing to 
go with him. This man was about fifty years 
old, and had never seen a buffalo, so every- 
thing was new to him, and all that he saw 
filled him with wonder. The first night they 
camped near the head of the Pawnee River, 
and the next morning started north to what 
is known as Hackberry Creek. As they were 
driving along, toward sundown, Youngblood' s 
comi)anion, who was the taller of the two, 
suddenly cried out: "Laws! Look there." 
Youngblood rose in the wagon, and was not 
a little surprised to see, just on the other side 
of a long, low ridge, and within easy gun- 
shot, a herd of about 2,000 buffalo. They 
were grazing quietly, and had not perceived 
the aT)proacli of the hunters. Taking his 
gun, Youngblood slipped to the top of the 
ridge and fired several times, killing two. 
After dressing one, he went to the other, 



^WVV'^I* '■~™ "■! 



soldiers' chase of INDIANS. 117 

which was a cow, and was lying about a hun- 
dred yards from the first. Her calf had lain 
down beside her, and Youngblood told his 
man to slip behind the cow and catch it. 
"All right," said he; "and when I have 
gripped it, you must come and help me." 
With this he got down on his hands and 
knees and crawled up close to the dead cow; 
but the calf caught sight of him, and getting 
up, walked round the cow to meet him. As 
the calf appeared, he lay as flat on the ground 
as he could, expecting to catch it as soon as 
it came within reach; but, to his surprise and 
consternation, when within about eight feet 
of him it suddenly sprang upon him and 
began trampling and goring him in a most 
lively manner. The calf was not old enough 
to do him much harm, so Youngblood, who 
was splitting his sides with laughter, did not 
interfere, but allowed them to fight it out by 
themselves. The man, who was frightened 
almost out of his wits, struggled and yelled 
for help, and finally managed to get on his 
feet, and ran for dear life. The calf followed 



118 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

Mm about a dozen feet, and then turned 
quietly back and lay down again by the 
cow. As soon as Youngblood could restrain 
his laughter, he took the case in hand, and the 
calf was soon secured. 

The next morning bright and early they 
started on the trail of the herd, and about 10 
o' clock they came in sight of them traveling 
westward toward Silver Lake, which was 
about twenty miles distant. Until about 2 
o'clock in the afternoon they followed them 
with the wagon, but without succeeding in 
overtaking them. The other man was in 
despair, but Youngblood told him that he 
would soon manage it, and forthwith pro- 
ceeded to mount a good saddle-horse they 
had with them. Then, telling his compan- 
ion to follow slowly so as not to frighten the 
buffalo, he galloped off to one side of the 
herd, and riding through a deep draw, got 
ahead of them; picketing his horse, he now 
lay down almost in their course and waited. 
ISTot until they were within thkty yards did 
he open fire, but when he did it was with 



J 



vx^S^':i'VTi^'ir^tJV."'[^ 



SOLDIERS' CHASE OF INDIANS. 119 

good effect, and by the time his partner 
came up he had killed ten. When dressed, 
this made a good load, and the hunters 
started for Pierceville, and, after traveling 
all night, arrived there about daylight. The 
town was full of emigrants, and there was 
no trouble in disposing of the meat at good 
prices. 



CHAPTER X. 

MEANNESS WHICH DID NOT PAY — TOO CON- 
FIDENT HUNTERS — DANGERS OF THE 
PLAINS— BACK TO MISSOURI ONCE MORE. 

Some of tlie emigrants, however, refused 
to buy, saying that it was cheaper and easier 
to go out and kill their own meat. The old 
hunter laughed in his sleeve as he saw them 
cleaning up their guns x^reparatory to a 
grand slaughter of the unfortunate buffalo, 
and he remarked that he was afraid his occu- 
pation would be gone, as it appeared as if 
they were going to kill off all the game. 
The emigrants did not relish his joking much, 
and told him Just to wait until they returned. 

"All right," said Youngblood, good- 
naturedly; "but be sure and take plenty 
of teams to bring in the meat. It would be 
a pity to have to leave it to rot on the plains 
for lack of transportation." 

Shortly after their departure, Youngblood 

(131) 



] 



122 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

left Pierceville, alone, and went to Alkali 
Lake, fifteen miles from the head of the 
Pawnee River. While driving along Dry 
Lake he saw a squad of men about a mile 
off in the basin of the lake. They perceived 
him at the same time, and commenced mak- 
ing signals of distress, running toward him, 
waving their hats, and calling on him to stop. 
As soon as they were near enough he recog- 
nized his old friends, the emigrants, who had 
started out so full of confidence from Pierce- 
ville. The poor fellows were in a sad plight, 
as they were almost dying from thirst, not 
having seen a drop of water for three days. 
Several of their horses had given out, and 
they had been digging with their knives, hop- 
ing to strike water in the basin of Dry Lake. 
Youngbiood could not help pitying them, 
although they had been mean enough to run 
the chance of losing their lives on the un- 
known plains rather than pay him a few 
dollars, and he took them to a spring at the 
foot of a hill about a quarter of a mile away, 
where they could obtain all the pure, fresh 



*>''V?'i* • n'j»™^'"^ ■ ' ' 



MEANNESS WHICH DID NOT PAY. 123 

water they wanted. They were half -starved 
as well, and if Youngblood had not hap- 
pened along, would probably have perished. 
Men who are unacquainted with the plains 
have no business upon them unaccompanied 
by a pilot. There is no lack of water, for 
there are plenty of springs that never go 
dry; but to one who is not acquainted with 
their location it is a difficult matter to find 
them, and a person may suffer horribly from 
thirst, and perhaps even die within a few 
steps of water. Another reason why a pilot 
is indisjjensable is that the novice, not know- 
ing how to hunt or where to look for game, 
might wander for weeks and never see a 
buffalo, or if he should stumble upon a herd, 
the chances are that if left to himself he 
would not be able to kill a single one. Then, 
most emigrants, and people who come from 
the East to hunt on the plains, are armed 
with squirrel rifles and shot-guns, which are 
of no possible use in hunting big game. 
Therefore, for one's own convenience and 
safety, even, it is the wisest thing to do to 



124 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

hire a pilot, even if his pay is $5 a day. 
Shortly after this, Youngblood concluded 
to return to Missouri and spend a few weeks 
with his family. He reached home the 13th 
of June, 1876, and remained there until 
October, when he grew weary of civilization, 
and longed for the free, untrammeled life of 
the plains once more; so, taking with him 
his oldest son and a man named Baker, he set 
out in quest of further adventures in the 
Great West. 



msvV!i'f-viir:v' 



CHAPTER XI. 

IJSr THE LAKE DISTRICT — A GANG OF BADGERS 
— A GOOD HARVEST OF WOLF-SKINS — 
OMAHAS — JIMMIE'S FRIGHT — A BAD BLIZ- 
ZARD — FROST-BITTEN". 

He decided to make at once for his old 
haunt on the Pawnee River; but the rivers 
all through Kansas were badly swollen, and 
in places it was almost impossible to make 
any headway, so it was full fourteen days 
before his destination was reached. He con- 
cluded to take up his headquarters at Clear 
Lake. When within a few miles of the lake, 
as he was driving leisurely along with his 
son and Baker, he spied a solitary buffalo 
grazing not far off; but before they could 
come within range the animal perceived them, 
and was off in a twinkling. Youngblood, for- 
tunately, happened to have a pony along with 
him, which he had captured in a skirmish 
with the Cheyennes, and he mounted it and 

(135) 



136 A MIGHTY HU]N-TER. 

started in i)nrsuit. The pony had been 
trained to the business, and crowded the 
buffalo so close that it turned and showed 
fight; but before he could do any damage, a 
shot brought him low, and when the wagon 
came up Youngblood had nearly finished 
dressing him. This was the first buffalo the 
other two had ever seen, and they were 
greatly delighted. They camped that night 
at Alkali Lake, and had a plentiful supper 
of buffalo-meat, which Baker and Young- 
blood's son thought was the finest thing they 
had ever eaten. The old hunter smiled at 
their enthusiasm, and, it being no novelty to 
him, did not care to taste it, for it was as old 
as he was, and as poor as a snake. The next 
morning was dreary and stormy, but they 
hitched up the horses and drove about five 
miles, when they ran into a squad of hunters. 
Game appeared to be very plentiful, and the 
fusillade was continuous. Our friends con- 
tinued their way to the foot of the "White 
Woman," but, as water was scarce there, 
they soon drifted back into the lake region. 



'''■(7T*jfrr..*?'?"'''<^';;! ' 



IN THE LAKE DISTEIOT. 127 

One evening, when the little company had 
halted near Silver Lake and camped on a 
small branch for the night, Baker, who had 
strolled away a short distance from the camp, 
suddenly called out : 

"Oh, look over there! What a gang of 
badgers." 

Youngblood ran to find out what he meant, 
and he saw that his gang of badgers was 
really a herd of buffalo, with the tips of 
their humps just visible above the crest of a 
little hillock. He hurried back, seized his 
gun, and stealing to the top of the ridge, 
succeeded in killing twelve. These, when 
dressed, made so good a load that they carted 
them at once to Sherlock, and shipped them 
to market. After this was accomplished, 
they returned and took up their abode on 
Alkali Lake. Leaving Baker to make a dug- 
out — a hut dug in the bank of a branch or 
the brink of a hill — Youngblood, with his 
son Jimmie, went out about four miles, where 
they found the carcass of a buffalo, preyed 
on by a number of wolves. As wolf -skins 



.TT-.^T^r^JT'fJVfiB 



128 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

brought excellent prices in the itiarket, 
Youngblood concluded lie would put some 
strychnine in the carcass, camp near by, and 
await the result; and he was well paid for 
his trouble, for when he went back the next 
morning to observe the effects of the j)oison, 
he found the dead bodies of thirteen wolves. 
These, with the assistance of his son, he 
skinned, and laden with the pelts he started 
back to the wagon. They had gone but a 
short distance, however, before they struck 
a large herd of buffalo, coming toward them 
on the run. The hunter, leaving Jimmie in 
charge of the skins, threw himself down in 
the grass and awaited the coming of the 
herd until they were within about twenty 
yards of him, when he opened fire; but out 
of twenty shots he succeeded in killing only 
six. Meanwhile, poor Jimmie was greatly 
alarmed, for he could not see his father, and 
imagined he was being trampled upon by the 
heavy hoofs, until he heard the firing and 
was undeceived. Scarcely had the herd 
passed when Jimmie perceived a horseman 




w.'f.yr 



IlSr THE LAKE DISTRICT. 129 

coming toward them, and called his father's 
attention to it. After a little scrutiny the 
latter saw that it was an Indian, and told 
Jimmie so. At this the boy fell into a ter- 
rible state of alarm, cried, and wished he had 
not come; but when several more appeared 
in sight, it was as much as his father could 
do to pacify him. As they came close, 
Youngblood raised his gun to his shoulder, 
and ordering the foremost of them to halt, 
asked him what tribe they belonged to. 

"Omaha," was the reply. 

"How many of you are there ?" 

"Thirty." 

This was about correct, as Youngblood 
could see for himself. The Indian then in- 
quired as to the number of the white man's 
party. The Indians were directly in the road 
to the camp, and did not look particularly 
friendly, but Youngblood answered boldly 
that they were eight, and advised the Indians 
to turn to the left, as some of the boys might 
want to shoot if they saw them. This he 
did, carefully watching for "the boys," but 

9 



■'•■■<■" ™«f^ 




130 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

not meeting with any success. This little 
ruse having succeeded, our hero and his 
trembling son made a bee-line for home. The 
Indians pitched their tepees upon a hill 
about a mile from the camp, and it was evi- 
dent that they intended to remain there for 
the night. As it was much earlier in the day 
than they would ordinarily begin to make 
preparations for the night, and as the site 
they had selected was not very accessible 
to water, Youngblood's suspicions became 
aroused, and he at once began to put things 
in the best order for defense, in case his little 
camp should be attacked. It looked very 
much as if the red-skins had taken up their 
position in order to watch the hunters, and 
possibly attack them before daybreak. As a 
precaution, Youngblood picketed a horse on 
a knoll, about a hundred yards from camp, 
so that if they came he would be warned 
before they were absolutely upon him. A 
horse is about the best possible guard against 
a surprise by Indians, being much superior 
in that respect to a dog. The latter is apt to 




•^jfpj^.rff^rT^v^v'y-f;!'- ^.'s't-^.v-- 



IN THE LAKE DISTEICT. 131 

make altogether too much noise, and so give 
the alarm to the Indians as well, while the 
horse only snorts at most, and, moreover, 
does not sleep as much or as soundly as the 
dog, and seldom allows himself to be sur- 
prised. If Indians are approaching, no mat- 
ter how craftily, he is sure to discover it and 
let his master know of it by his restlessness, 
sniffing, and snorting. . 

The fears of the hunter, however, proved 
groundless on this occasion, for the red-skins 
gave no sign. The horse exhibited no symp- 
toms of alarm, but Youngblood continued to 
watch him until about 9 o'clock the next day. 

The morning was very foggy, and it was 
not until 10 o'clock that the atmosphere 
cleared sufficiently to render it safe to make 
a reconnoiter. As soon as he considered it 
feasible, Toungblood took his gun and am- 
munition, and in company with his son pro- 
ceeded to the hill where the Indians had 
pitched their camp the day before. There 
was no sign of them now, excepting the ashes 
of their deserted fires, and after a close 



132 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

examination to discover which way they had 
gone, their trail was found leading toward 
White Woman Greek. 

Some time afterward Youngblood learned 
that, while on their march, they came very 
near capturing another hunter. This man 
lived in a dug-out, and was preparing his sup- 
per, when he saw the savages bearing down 
upon him. One man against thirty in an 
open iight was without a chance, so he rushed 
into his dug-out, slammed the door to and 
made it fast. The Indians soon came up and 
tried to burst in. The door was not of the 
strongest, and as the man inside thought 
that he was doomed to death anyhow, he 
determined to sell his life as dearly as possi- 
ble, and began to shoot through the door at 
his would-be slayers. 

A great many of the Indians were wounded 
by his bullets, and they soon abandoned the 
plan of breaking down the door as a bad and 
costly job, and turned their attention to the 
top of the dug-out. But they were even less 
successful there, for the interior of the hut 



IN THE LAKE DISTKICT. 133 

was dark, and tlie hunter, aiming through 
the smoke-hole, could bring them down with 
his gun, while affording no target himself. 
They soon got tired of this, and retreated, 
leaving the man unharmed. Indians will 
never fight unless they are pretty confident 
they can do so without injury to any one of 
their number. 

An old Ogallah chief once declared in 
Youngblood's hearing, that it did not pay to 
give man for man, and that he would not do 
it. One resolute and experienced white man 
can hold fifty Indians at bay, if he has a good 
position and understands how to derive the 
most advantage from it. 

As we related above, the red-skins, finding 
that they could not get at the man in the 
dug-out without considerable loss to them- 
selves, retreated and took up their station on 
a little hill a short distance away. As soon 
as it was dark, the hunter crept out, and, 
although running a great risk, he managed 
to elude his bloodthirsty enemies and effect 
his escape. But, although thus lucky this 



■™v(^«9!«pa 



■m 



134 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

time, tlie poor fellow was soon after over- 
taken by a worse fate, if any fate can be 
worse than that of falling into the hands of 
the red devils. 

He and his two partners were out hunting, 
when they were caught in a heavy snow- 
storm, frozen to death, and their bodies half- 
devoured by wolves before they were discov- 
ered. 

Youngblood himself had a narrow escape 
from a similar frightful experience. He and 
his son were out hunting, and had been in 
pursuit of two buffalo calves for about twelve 
miles before they finally captured them at a 
point about six miles from Silver Lake. 
They were on their way to the lake, when 
the weather suddenly began to turn piercing 
cold, and there was every sign of an 
approaching blizzard. They hurried on at 
as rapid a pace as possible, and when within 
about a mile of the lake and shelter, they saw 
away to their left an unusually large herd of 
buffalo, fully 2,000 of them. AU Young- 
blood' s hunting instincts were aroused, and 



ft^Vi^^^j^!^^'^:'>f'W-'?ll^!:''f'^ 



IN THE LAKE DISTEICT. 135 

he could scarcely conquer his desire to take 
advantage of such a magnificent opportunity, 
but the sun was almost down and the cold 
was increasing, so he decided it would be the 
only wise policy to go to the spring and wait 
till morning before trying his luck. As they 
lay down for the night, he noticed a very 
black cloud overhanging the horizon, and the 
next morning, alas for his hopes of game, the 
snow was a foot deep and still falling, and 
the air was bitterly cold. He called out to 
his son to lie still until the storm should 
abate, but the boy soon grew weary of this, 
and got up to kindle a fire. This, however, 
he could not succeed in doing, and he was 
soon crying so bitterly with the cold that his 
father arose, and after several futile attempts 
finally managed to obtain a blaze. The horses 
had strayed off in search of shelter, and were 
nowhere to be found, and Sherlock was thir- 
teen miles away. It seemed little short of 
madness to try to wade there through the 
drifting snow, but Jimmie begged so pite- 
ously that his father finally consented to 



136 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

make tlie attempt; but after starting he more 
than once regretted it, for the cold was even 
more piercing and the traveling more diffi- 
cult than he had anticipated. The snow was 
whirling all about them in huge drifts, and 
the fierce wind blew the frozen particles into 
their clothes until they became so stiff that 
walking knee-deep through the snow was 
terribly fatiguing. Their progress was neces- 
sarily very slow, and it was several hours 
before they reached a house and could obtain 
the longed-for food, shelter, and warmth. 
After they had eaten something, Youngblood 
was still shivering, and at the suggestion of 
the Woman of the house seated himself close 
to a red-hot stove, pressing his legs almost 
against the glowing mass of coals. 

. He had not been seated there long, how- 
ever, before he suddenly discovered that 
there was something wrong with his feet. 
At first they had felt only numb, but they 
now began to ache and throb, and in a short 
time the pain became so intense that it was 
almost unbearable. 



T!Jf»'yr7'/?!f«^>i 



IN THE LAKE DISTKICT. 137 

He went to bed with his socks on, but his 
suffering was so keen as to dispel all idea of 
sleep, and the next morning he discovered, to 
his horror, that his feet were almost perfectly 
black, frightfully swollen, and covered with 
blisters. 

There was no longer any doubt about it, 
his feet were badly frozen; and the unlucky 
application of heat had been about the worst 
thing that could possibly have been done. 
A very serious matter it proved to our poor 
hunter, for at the end of twenty days there 
were symptoms of mortification, and he was 
put on a train and taken to Fort Dodge, a 
distance of sixty miles, for medical treat- 
ment. Here a physician was employed, who 
burned off tlje dead flesh and scraped the 
bone, and at the end of seven months the 
patient was able to walk a little; but it was 
a much longer time before he entirely recov- 
ered from his lameness. 



^^^^f»Spiff^'/;'''ffp'if«!^--^ 



CHAPTER XII. 

CIMAREOl!^ CREEK— PLENTY OF GAME— IN A 
BA.D FIX— HE couldn't STAND THE INDIANS 
—AFRAID OF LIGHTNING OVER HIS HEAD 
—A LAUGHABLE ACCIDENT. 

As soon as he was sufficiently recovered, 
Youngblood, with his son, returned to Sher- 
lock, and again started in hunting. He 
could walk only with great difficulty, and he 
was forced to drive in a wagon as near a herd 
as he could, and then crawl on his hands and 
knees to within range. 

From Sherlock he went west about twenty 
miles, and then, crossing the Arkansas River, 
went about thirty miles, to Cimarron Creek. 
After following this stream about ten miles, 
he struck a large herd of buffalo, and in 
spite of his infirmity succeeded in killing 
three. 

After this they went about ten miles 
farther along the road, and camped for the 

(139) 



'?•?!? 



140 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

niglit. Early the next morning, Jimmie 
Youngblood, wlio had gone out to attend to 
the horses, warned his father that there were 
buffalo close by. One was soon brought 
down, and the others gathered, bellowing, 
about the carcass. To shoot them thus was 
child' s play to the experienced hunter, and 
he fired at his ease until he had killed nine. 
Only five miles were made that day, when 
they again stopped for the night. The next 
morning, to their dismay, they found that 
one of their horses was dead; but Young- 
blood sent his son after a team. One of his 
old partners, fortunately, happened to be in 
town, and, only too glad to help his friend 
out of a scrape, came and hauled the meat • 
for him. 

There was no difficulty in obtaining another 
horse, and Youngblood was soon again on 
the track of the buffalo, this time about forty 
miles back on Cimarron Creek, The first 
night he camped in the bed of a dry lake 
and slept in the wagon. When he raised his 
head in the morning and peeped out, he saw 



^-^SS^S^-V-JT^. 



CIMARRON CREEK. 141 

something about two miles away that looked 
like a herd of buffalo, but he was not quite 
sure, and rousing his son, he asked him to 
see if his younger eyes could make out what 
it was. The boy, half -awake, turned to look 
in the opposite direction, and there, bearing 
straight toward them, and almost upon them, 
was a herd fully a mile long and a quarter 
of a mile wide. With a yell, he called his 
father's attention to the great sight. Young- 
blood hurried to get his gun, but by the 
time he was ready the buffalo were within 
twenty paces of him. As they went thunder- 
ing past, making the rocks and trees resound 
with their trampling and bellowing, he put 
in good work, and by the time they had 
passed he had a fine load, which, after dress- 
ing, he took back to market. 

Jimmie now left him and went back to 
Missouri, so he hired in his j)lace a man 
named Greorge Daniels, to whom he gave $30 
a month. This proved an unxorofitable in- 
vestment, however, for Daniels only stayed 
about three weeks, when the Indians scared 



142 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

him away. He had been sent out one morn- 
ing after the horses, and when about a 
quarter of a mile from camp, he discovered a 
couple of Indians riding toward him. Leav- 
ing the horses to take care of themselves, he 
came flying into camp, screaming and yell- 
ing for help at every stride. His cries 
brought his master out to see what was the 
matter, and, sure enough, the red-skins were 
close upon the poor wretch. The sight of 
the hunter and his rifle persuaded them to 
stop, however, and they at once turned tail 
and rode away. This adventure was alto- 
gether too much for Daniels' nerves, and he 
declared that he wouldn't stay for $500 a 
month. 

' ' Nonsense, ' ' laughed Youngblood. ' 'Such 
little brushes are nothing when one gets used 
to them." 

"But I should never get used to them," 
replied the other, with a shudder. "Why, 
there's everything that's horrible out here — 
snakes, skunks, centipedes, tarantulas, and 
Indians." 



CIMAREON CREEK. 143 

Youngblood tried to reassure him by tell- 
ing Mm that if he wasn't born to be killed by 
an Indian he wouldn't be, and if he was, he 
couldn't escape it anyhow. 

"Born or not born," was the skeptical 
answer, "they would have had me if it 
hadn't been for you." 

"But unless it was Gfod's will, He would 
not allow them to hurt you." 

"I would rather depend upon you than 
God when the Indians are after me," 
answered the incorrigible Daniels, 

There was no satisfaction to be gotten out 
of him, and there was no use in arguing with 
him. The man's cowardice made his life a 
misery to him; there was scarcely anything 
that he was not afraid of. One day he bor- 
rowed Youngblood' s gun to shoot an antelope 
with. He was stealing slyly up to the ani- 
mal, when, to Youngblood' s amazement, he 
suddenly turned and came running toward 
the wagon at full speed. 

" What in the world is the matter ?" cried 
Youngblood, "Why," he exclaimed, 



'■,C'^''ra'5" 



144 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

"didn't you see the lightning? I don't 
want any steel in my hands when there' s light- 
ning round. Why, I've jerked many a knife 
out of my pocket and thrown it away on 
that account." 

Youngblood laughed, and told him if he 
wasn' t careful he would get killed before his 
time, yet — a jesting speech, which was des- 
tined to come true, as he was afterward 
hung for murder in Warrensburg, Missouri. 
He protested his innocence, and Youngblood 
always believed in it, as, except for his cow- 
ardice, there was no harm in him. 

After Daniels' departure, Youngblood 
hired a man named George Johnson, which 
proved to be a jump from the frying-pan into 
the fire, for Johnson was a bigger coward, if 
possible, than Daniels, and lacked the latter' s 
willing good-nature. The partnership, how- 
ever, was of short duration, for about twenty 
days after it was formed an accident hap- 
pened that caused it to be broken. 

They had taken a load of meat into the 
station, and were selling it out to the emi- 



E'5ewwr™Ti.W(-«t'fl^»' J 



CIMARRON CREEK. 145 

grants. With some of these Johnson struck 
up an acquaintance, and was never weary of 
boasting to the young women he met of the 
doughty deeds he had accom^Dlished — killing 
buffalo, riding -wild horses, and many other 
things of which he knew nothing whatever. 
Once, while he was telling them what a 
splendid horseman he was, one of them said: 
"Dear me, I wish you would ride one of 
Pa's horses; no one can manage him, and 
he throws everyone who gets on his back." 
Johnson was in a fix, but he made up his 
mind that it would not do to back down, so, 
though inwardly quaking, he answered that 
he could ride anything, he didn't care what 
it was. The horse was therefore saddled 
and brought out. By the time all things 
were in readiness for the show to begin, a 
large crowd, of both sexes, all ages and sizes, 
had gathered together to witness the fun and 
applaud the marvelous feats of horseman- 
ship. Johnson climbed into the saddle, and 
told the men who were at the horse's head to 
let him go. No sooner was this injunction 

10 



^.■"^S 



146 A MIGHTY HUNTEK. 

obeyed than the animal began to rear and 
plunge fearfully, and after a few jumps 
changed to the old trick of bucking and 
kicking. All at once he gave a sudden 
jump and came down stiffly on his fore legs, 
at the same time jerking his head down to 
the ground and kicking as high as he could 
with his hind legs. This was too much for a 
horseman of even Johnson's vaunted skill 
and experience, and he iiew over the horse's 
head, with legs, arms, and fingers spread out 
like a jumping-jack. As he went over, the 
seat of his pants caught on the horn of 
the saddle, and remained there, being torn 
completely away from the garment of which 
it was such an important part. The unfort- 
unate victim of his own vanity struck the 
ground on all fours, and full of fear that the 
horse would kick him, he scrambled off as 
fast as he could on his hands and knees, with 
that portion of his anatomy which in a beef 
is called the best steak unprotected by any 
other covering than that which Nature had 
given it. He crawled along in this way for 



j(!fjB?p;5?»T'5j^^^WTW^:^^^ 



CIMAERON CEEEK. 147 

some distance, followed by shouts of laugh- 
ter from the observers; when he finally vent- 
ured to look round, and made sure that the 
horse was not going to attack him, he jumped 
to his feet, and gathering the back part of 
his pants in both hands, he slunk hastily 
away into the bushes. It is scarcely neces- 
sary to state that he did not again appear in 
the presence of the young girls to whom he 
had boasted so loud of his prowess. 

The next morning he called on Young- 
blood and asked him for his pay, saying that 
he was going to leave the country, for he 
would never hear the last of his misadvent- 
ure if he should remain. Youngblood tried 
to dissuade him from his purpose, saying 
that the horse had thrown everybody that had 
tried to ride him, but it was all of no avail. 

"That's all very well," he said; "but 
everybody has not had his breeches torn off, 
as I did. It's no use to talk; I won't stay." 

Convinced that he meant what he said, 
Youngblood paid him off, and had to look 
out for someone else to take his place. 



fy-'^'ff- . ' '"^ '■ .' ■ ■ -" 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

WILD HORSES — PERISHING OF THIRST — 
WATER AT LAST— BONES ON THE PLAINS 
— KNEW MORE THAN THE GUIDE — THE 
RESUXT OF PIGHEADEDNESS, 

After he parted with Johnson, Youngblood 
formed a partnership with two young men 
named Stanfield, At that time there were a 
great many wild horses in the neighborhood, 
and the new combination decided to try 
their luck in catching them. It was not long 
after they started out that they struck a 
drove of about seventy -five going west. As 
no one of the three had had any experience 
in that particular line of hunting, they had no 
idea how far the sport was likely to carry 
them, and followed the horses closely, expect- 
ing to get back that night, but instead of 
that, they were led a long chase of about 140 
miles. As they had started out without the 

slightest anticipation of anything of this 

(149; 



150 A MIGHTY HUN^TEE. 

sort, they had made no preparations for it, 
were without provisions, and were compelled 
to do entirely without water. On the second 
day, our friend Youngblood got accidentally 
separated from his two companions, and on 
the third day, not having tasted a drop of 
water for over forty-eight hours, he came to 
a dry branch. He dismounted from his horse, 
and began scratching in the mud for the 
longed-for fluid. While thus engaged, his 
horse broke loose from him, and before he 
could prevent it, galloped away across the 
prairie. He was soon out of sight, and there 
was Youngblood, left in the midst of the 
boundless prairies without food or drink, 
afoot and alone. He tried chewing grass to 
assuage his burning thirst, and he was so faint 
and weak that he could hardly walk, being 
obliged to stop and rest every few steps. He 
was dragging himself slowly and painfully 
along, and beginning to despair of escaping 
from his terrible predicament, when he saw, 
just ahead, coming toward him, a drove of 
wild horses. He noticed that they kept turn- 




:fsPr*~:,'TL''r'^'^i>^«^'™^^ 



WILD HORSES. 151 

ing and looking back, as if pursued, and he 
soon perceived two men following them, to 
whom he made vigorous signs of distress. 
The men perceived them, and, to his great joy, 
rode up to him and inquired what was the 
matter. The two new-comers proved to be 
one of the Staniield boys and a man named 
Reece. Youngblood's throat and tongue 
were so dry and parched that he could not 
speak, but they soon understood his dilemma. 
They had no water, but they gave him, a 
very poor substitute, some dried apples 'to 
chew and create a flow of saliva to moisten 
his mouth. Stanfield then took him behind 
him on his horse, and galloped off with him 
to a spring about ten miles away. It took 
over an hour to reach this spring, an hour of 
intolerable agony to our poor hero. When 
water was finally before him, he had to be 
very careful not to drink too much, taking 
about a pint at first, and after awhile 
another, and so on until he knew there was 
no more danger. It took a prodigious quan- 
tity to satisfy him, and it was some days 



^1^ 



152 A MIGHTY HUNTEE, 

before he had entirely recovered from his 
enforced abstinence. The horse that broke 
away from him was not so fortunate, but 
perished on the arid plains. 

Many and many a man has gone out as 
Youngblood did, and died of hunger, thirst, 
or cold; it is no uncommon thing to find the 
bones of these unfortunates strewn over the 
ground where they met their miserable fate. 
Youngblood once found the skeleton of a 
man who must have frozen to death, for 
there were ashes near by, which showed that 
he had burned his wagon and even his gun- 
stock. He could not have been long dead, 
but the wolves had picked his bones com- 
jjletely clean. Another whose remains he 
discovered had a bullet-hole in his head, and, 
from the position of his gun, it was only too 
probable that he had shot himself to put an 
end to his sufferings. Still another was in a 
sitting posture, with his cloak wrapped 
around him, and, as there were no marks of 
violence on the body, had evidently iDerished 
from hunger or cold, or perhaps both together. 



infriCI^^C^'K;.- 



WILD HOESES. 153 

These are only a few instances of the hun- 
dreds who have gone to their death alone on 
the plains, and after the experience of terrible 
sufferings which no human being beheld or 
will ever know. 

As has been said before in these pages, but 
the fact will bear reiteration, no person 
should dream of going out on the plains 
without a competent guide; and it will not 
do to take anyone that offers himself, for 
there are a great many men who profess to 
be acquainted with the country, but who 
know nothing about it, and such lying 
scamps are worse than nobody. But when a 
good man is procured, put your whole trust 
in him, and do not profess, with your lim- 
ited experience, to know more than does he 
who has made the j)lains his life-study. As 
an illustration of the folly of persisting 
obstinately in having one's own way, may 
be cited a little experience of Youngblood's. 
He was hunting near Lakin Station, on the 
Atchison & Topeka Railroad, when a couple 
of men sought his services as a guide across 



154 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

the country to the south of the Arkansas 
River. A bargain was soon struck, and the 
journey was begun. Youngblood had his 
saddle-horse, and the two travelers were the 
possessors of a good team of mules. They 
proceeded about tAventy miles the first day, 
and camped at night on the banks of a small 
lake. Before starting the next morning, 
Youngblood strongly advised his employers 
to fill a barrel they had in the wagon with 
water, as it was twenty-five miles to the next 
spring or lake on their route. But they said 
no, it wouldn't be worth while; they could 
stand it, and, besides, the water would soon 
get warm and be unfit to drink. So they 
contented themselves with gul^Ding down as 
much as they could, and announced them- 
selves ready to start, doubtless under the 
impression that they would not be thirsty 
any more that day; but in this they were 
sadly mistaken. It was intolerably hot, 
and they were obliged to travel under a broil- 
ing sun; so, about 11, they began to want 
a drink, and insisted upon driving out of the 



7^T7ew(vw^«?-t?j'^ 



WILD HORSES. 155 

route to examine old, dry lakes, in tlie hope 
of finding water. Youngblood protested 
against these proceedings, assuring them 
that they were only losing time; that the 
nearest water was the lake he had spoken of, 
and that they would be able to slake their 
thirst sooner by driving directly there than 
by the useless exploration of dry lakes. 
They finally ended by growing angry, and 
told him sharply that he did not knov/ what 
he was talking about; that they knew more 
about the country than he did, and that 
there was no water within forty miles of 
them. They became so obstinate, and even 
insulting, that Youngblood could bear it no 
longer, and, telling them that they might go 
to a warmer country, for all he cared, rode 
off and left them. After he had ridden away 
a short distance, he looked back to find out 
if they were following him, but saw that they 
had turned, as if to return to La kin, 
Lakin was only about twenty miles in a 
straight line, and about thirty-five the way 
they had come; but to go directly there, one 



156 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

would be forced to cross over a range of 
sand-hills, which were almost impassable. 
The men were in a hurry to get back, how- 
ever, and, trusting to their knowledge of the 
country, took the direct route, and, of 
course, ran straight into the sand-hills, from 
which, after floundering about all that night 
and the next day, they finally emerged about 
thirty miles from the place they intended to 
strike. Here, fortunately for them, they 
found water; but their mules had given out 
before they had gotten through the hills, 
and they had been obliged to leave their 
wagon and foot it the rest of the way. 
After they had rested, they gave a ^Dilot $5 
a day to go back with them after their 
wagon; and at last, worn out and disgusted, 
they reached Garden City. Here, they had 
" powerful tales " to tell of the mischances 
they had suffered, and j)itched right and 
left into their old fool of a guide for getting 
them into such scrapes. 

"Who was your guide?" asked an old 
hunter. 



WILD HORSES. 157 

"A man named Youngblood." 
The hunter roared with, laughter, 
"Why, you donkeys," he said, "that 
man knows every puddle on the plains. He 
is A No. 1, and if you had stuck to him 
would have brought you out all right. All 
your trouble came from your pigheadedness 
in thinking that you knew more than your 
guide." 



:' ■ -f ■~;T!'yi!' 




5SVr*''V'''~»''TP '*^'-" r ~ 4 ''^ ••/'■'T '«--»!' v" 'f-^T-r (y--—-^" r ^.i~*r«»--»'T''rj 



CHAPTER XIV. 

A GEEAT BUFPALO-HUNT — NEW GAME — A 
LIVELY CHASE AETEE WILD HOESES. 

One of the biggest and most exciting buf- 
falo-hunts that our friend Youngblood was 
ever engaged in, happened in this way: A 
certain New Yorker was called West on busi- 
ness, and as he had a few days of spare time, 
he concluded that he would like a buffalo- 
chase. He had never seen a buffalo, but had 
a great desire to do so, and, just for the fun 
of It, to kill a dozen or two. He mentioned 
his wish to the landlord of the hotel where 
he was staying, a man named Potter, and 
this worthy suggested Youngblood to him 
as just the man likely to suit him. The 
hunter being approached on the subject, 
inquired how they proposed to go, remark- 
mg that if it was to be on foot, he would 
rather be excused. The New Yorker, how- 

(159) 



160 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

ever, promised to take a two-liorse carriage 
and a fine span owned by Potter, and Young- 
blood agreed to go as pilot for $3 a day. 
All arrangements were soon completed, and 
they started out, taking the landlord with 
them. 

They crossed the Arkansas River, went 
about thirty miles south, and camped for the 
night near the north fork of Cimarron Creek. 
The next day, after driving about twenty 
miles, they struck game. The landlord 
wanted to show what he could do, and 
declared that he could drive close up to the 
herd. Youngblood let him have his way, 
and, with the New Yorker, took his seat in 
the back part of the carriage, where they 
would have a good chance to shoot. Potter 
lashed his horses without mercy, while the 
other two sat patiently waiting until they 
got within range; but, alas! the looked-for 
opportunity never came, for, after running 
at full speed, the horses became winded and 
had to stop. While halting, and after the 
team had became somewhat refreshed, a great 



Wf'-t;'?5t^fS9'fi v*?i • r*'??' "^ 



A GREAT BUFFALO HUNT. 161 

herd of buffalo, which no man's eye could 
number, hove in sight about two miles away. 
This time the old hunter took charge, and 
some lively shooting ensued. When the 
buffalo had passed, four were lying on the 
ground dead, or apparently so. One was on 
its back, and as the party approached. Pot- 
ter remarked that he had " given that one 
h— 1;" but as a closer examination revealed 
no blood, and, furthermore, the animal was 
breathing rather lively for a dead buffalo, 
Youngblood conjectured that it had been 
knocked into the ditch by the others and had 
been unable to get out. He took the precau- 
tion, therefore, to observe it at a point a few 
feet away, as he was expecting it to make a 
mighty effort and get on its feet in a way 
that would make it unsafe to be too near it; 
and the result proved that he was right,' 
for in a few moments the animal, summon- 
ing all its strength, floundered, plunged, and 
finally gained its feet, causing a general scat- 
tering among its captors, who, however 
recovered from their alarm in time to per- 



"• i '■^.^f • K-'^-'.r-^W!;^' 




162 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

f orate it with bullets before any damage was 
done. During the commotion, the herd stam- 
peded, and the horses, becoming frightened, 
mixed with them, and ran fully three miles 
before they got clear and stopped. When 
the horses were recovered, Potter proposed 
to make another raid upon the herd, but 
Youngblood objected, as they already had 
more meat than they could carry back with 
them, and he disliked to see it wasted. The 
New Yorker, however, was anxious to go, so, 
leaving Youngblood to dress the four they 
had already killed, he and Potter started out 
again after the herd, which had begun to get 
together again. In about four hours they 
returned with thirty-six buffalo-tongues, 
having left the carcasses to rot upon the 
plains. This was unquestionably splendid 
luck, but it annoyed Youngblood that there 
should be such a useless waste of meat. The 
New Yorker, hov/ever, did not care for this, 
but was so overjoyed with his achievement 
that he said he wouldn't take $1,000 for 
the sport he had had. 



i.'r^^v ~".^^**x;f ■■^'^ ! 



A GREAT BUEFALO-HUNT. 168 

While out on this three days' trip, they 
saw large numbers of wild horses, and on 
their return, Youngblood happened to speak 
of them to a man named Boslen, who became 
considerably interested, and finally asked the 
hunter what he would charge to catch some 
of them for him. The latter answered that 
he did not own enough saddle-horses for 
such a chase; but Boslen jpromised to furnish 
as many horses and men as he wanted, 
and offered him $5 a day if he would 
go. After some deliberation, Youngblood 
decided that he did not care to go in that 
way, for if he should fail to catch any, his 
employer might accuse him of not trying; 
but he told Boslen that if he would give 
him six saddle-horses, two good hands, 
pay all expenses, and pay him $5 a head for 
all he could catch, he would go. To this 
proposition the other readily agreed, and 
the bargain was concluded forthwith. The 
horses were selected, and the preparations for 
the new chase were soon made. Several 
droves were found before one was struck that 



164 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

suited them. The drove that it was finally 
concluded to tackle was one that Youngblood 
had seen many times before when out after 
buffalo, and he was well acquainted with 
their range. They went as close as they 
dared, and, after carefully examining them 
through a pair of field-glasses, Boslen 
declared that they would do. The first 
thing to be done now was to select a place 
for the GSLvap as near as iDossible to the center 
of the range of the drove, for wild horses, 
when chased, seldom or never leave their 
range, although this may sometimes embrace 
hundreds of square miles. It is necessary, 
therefore, for the hunter to know the range 
and establish his headquarters near the cen- 
ter of it, where fresh horses for the chasers 
must always be kept in readiness. 

The point that Youngblood decided to be 
the best for the base of his operations was 
his old familiar camioing-place on Cimarron 
Creek, about thirty miles west from where 
they then were. This he chose as the most 
suitable place, both because it was near the 



VjS^rrwy^A''" 



A GEEAT BUFFALO-HUNT. 165 

center of the range of his game and because 
there was plenty of good water there, while, 
in most places, the lakes were nearly dried 
up, and the little water that was left was 
fast disappearing. So the next morning 
Boslin and the two men started for the 
camping-place, while our hunter rode olf in 
pursuit of the wild horses. His mount was 
a good one, and he was soon quite close to 
the drove. When his intended prey per- 
ceived him, some of them elevated their 
heads and stood like equine statues, watch- 
ing his every movement, while others, with 
their tails reared in the air, and taking a 
long, high trot, moved round among their 
companions, whinnying as if asking for 
counsel. As the hunter came nearer and 
nearer, the whole herd began to circle around 
him, with their heads turned toward him. 
Occasionally one would stop to get a better 
look at him, and, after satisfying his curi- 
osity, would snort loudly and move on with 
the rest. Youngblood reined in his horse, 
and sat perfectly motionless, waiting for 



^"^"•Pil 



166 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

them to move off, wlLich, after making lialf 
a dozen circles or so, they finally did, going 
west, toward the place where he- had told 
Boslen to fix their headquarters. He fol- 
lowed them as fast as he could, but, as they 
were going at full speed, in spite of his best 
endeavors, he could only just manage to 
keep them in sight. Shortly after they start- 
ed, they struck into a wagon-road, called the 
Doby Wall Trail, and, following it, passed 
close to the camp. Youngblood was anxious 
to change horses, but he knew that it was 
too soon for his companions to have arrived, 
so he keiDt on in pursuit. His plan was to 
chase them down and capture the whole 
drove. He might have followed them for 
awhile, and then dashed in and lassoed a 
few, but this would not have satisfied his 
ambition. He was aware that as the wild 
horse gets tired, he grows tamer, and, if 
the would-be ca^Dtor has suitable head- 
quarters, where he can procure fresh mounts, 
so as not to give a drove much rest, the 
whole herd can be easily caught. 



w?ipg''W.t"^^y^ "'f^-'- 



A GEEAT BUFFALO-HUNT. 167 

After passing the proposed camping-place, 
the horses proceeded westward to the Kansas- 
Colorado State line; here they .turned to the 
south, and kept this course until they struck 
the south fork of Cimarron Creek, where 
they turned to the east, passing the camp 
again, this time to the south. Youngblood 
took advantage of this to change steeds, and 
was after them again with more vigor than 
ever. They made their way east to the place 
where he had first started them. Here he 
met two men who had lost their way two 
days before, and, as the sky was cloudy, had 
been unable to find their bearings. They 
were nearly starved, and begged for some- 
thing to eat. On the frontier, it is always 
customary to divide, when there is anything 
to divide, so Youngblood gave them a bis- 
cuit apiece, half of all he had, told them 
which way to go, and resumed his chase. 
The drove did not seem disposed now to go 
anywhere near the camp, but galloped back 
and forth across the country, between Wild 
Horse and White lakes. This little pro- 



168 A MIGHTY HUJSTTEE. 

ceeding did not please our friend at all, for 
his nag was getting fagged, and if he should 
be forced to go all the way to camp to change, 
it would give the wild horses a chance to 
rest, and he would lose nearly, if not quite, 
all that he had accomplished in two days' 
hard work. Just as he was trying to make 
up his mind what to do, as good luck would 
have it, he fell in with a cow-boy, who, for a 
consideration of $5, agreed to go to the camp 
and tell Boslen to send a fresh horse to 
meet him on the old Santa Fe trail. The 
horses were now getting pretty well tired, 
and, almost directly after the meeting with 
the cow-boy, they turned and started off in 
the direction of Cimarron Creek. 

Youngblood passed that night within ten 
miles of camp, and started bright and early 
the next morning to intercept the men who 
were to bring the horse. He struck the 
Santa Fe trail just in the nick of time, and 
after refreshing the inner man, he mounted 
the new horse, a strong, powerful beast, and 
was off once more on the chase He found 



H'^f^Fv!.- if*^ "S^ .TT'^-^^yr-.y- 



A GREAT BUFFALO-HUNT. 169 

his wild horses near the place where he had 
left them, and, to his delight, as it showed 
that they were pretty well tuckered out, 
found most of them lying down. These ani- 
mals are possessed of the most wonderful 
endurance, as will be seen from the fact that 
that night one of the mares gave birth to a 
colt, which traveled with the rest all the next 
day. About an hour after sunset. Young- 
blood halted for the night, knowing the colt 
would keep the herd near by. By this time 
he had them so cowed and worried by their 
hard, continuous racing over the country, 
that they grazed all around him during the 
night, and when he awoke the next morning 
he found nearly all of them lying down, 
stretched out as if dead. He had no mercy 
on them, however, but started them off 
again. They were evidently very stiff and 
sore, and they moved slowly away in a west- 
erly direction into Colorado, where they took 
nearly the same route as before, turning 
south and then east, back into Kansas. 
When their indomitable hunter stopped for 



170 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

the niglit, lie knew that he must be some- 
where near camp, but it was so dark and 
cloudy that he could see no signs of it. In 
the morning, however, he found that his 
surmises were correct, and that he was within 
half a mile of his friends, much nearer, even, 
than he had supposed. He found them all 
asleep, but soon waked them uj). After a good 
breakfast, he took another horse and went 
back to look up the herd. This time he took 
one of the men with him to take care of the 
colt when it should give down, which he 
knew would happen in a very short time now. 
He found the horses so sore and worn out 
that they were quite docile, and he could 
lead them about in almost any direction he 
pleased. At night he had them back again 
near the camp, and he told Boslen to be 
ready to start with them the next day for 
Lakin Station; but when morning came, he 
decided it would be safer to tire them out a 
little bit more, and when he finally did 
undertake to drive them in, he took a direct 
line for the station, across the sand-hills. 



flf!-.'*7WW!^K^'^Wi 



A GREAT BUFFALO -HUNT. 171 

They were two days in crossing tlie hills, 
during which time the horses were absolutely 
without water, and when a lake was finally 
reached, they drank to repletion, from the 
effects of which eight of them died, a loss of 
$40 to Youngblood. The rest were driven 
some twelve miles to a cow-corral, where 
they were corraled, closed in, and taken 
across the river to Lakin, where the whole 
drove, twenty-four head, was safely housed. 



'^v?r<fi.'5«w?s^ 



!!]?WIJIwS!Pwiw?j!f^7nv-Ti;;jj»^^ 



CHAPTER XV. 

AFTER WILD HORSES AGAIN — HOSTILE RED- 
SKIlSrS — A BIG DRIVE — A CLOSE BRUSH 
WITH INDIANS. 

His good hick in liis first chase after wild 
horses inspired Youngblood to try it again; 
so he wrote to Missouri for his son and son- 
in-law to come out and join him, and in the 
meantime allowed the saddle-horses to rest 
and recuperate. The two young men arrived 
in a few days, and the three started out 
again south of the Arkansas River. When 
they reached the. region of Wild Horse Lake, 
they found that it had been raining very 
heavily and the lakes were all full, so Young- 
blood told the boys to establish a camp about 
ten miles west of Wild Horse Lake, while he 
himself went in pursuit of a herd of seventy- 
two horses which they had discovered. He 
drove them for twelve days, but at the end 
of that time the iDrovisions ran low, and it 

(173) 



174 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

became necessary to send one of the boys 
back to the station for the necessaries of life. 
While he was preparing for the exx)edition, 
a herd of bnffalo came in sight, so Young- 
blood ordered the horses to be put into the 
wagon, so that he might procure a load of 
meat to send into the station; but as they 
were going out after the buffalo, he dis- 
covered a band of Indians, about three miles 
away, coming toward them. 

Youngblood Junior was just about to go 
after a young antelope, but his father stopped 
him, as there was no telling whether the 
Indians were friendly or not, and he wanted 
to be prepared for any emergency. He 
explained to the boys that it was possible 
that they might have to fight, and warned 
them to keep cool and not get excited. He 
then ordered them to get all the ammunition 
together, while he went out to reconnoiter 
and see how the land lay. Accordingly, he 
walked 200 or 300 yards away from the camp, 
and took up a position where he could watch 
the movements of the Indians. They came 



^Ii^^m^^!!i^^j^i^^«^^^::'' 



AFTER WILD HORSES AGAIN. 175 

down into the bed of the creek, which was 
about a mile wide, and disappeared from 
sight. Youngblood now shifted his i^osition, 
so that he could see them the moment they 
emerged into view. They came out about 
half a mile away from him, and were evident- 
ly surprised when they discovered the little 
camp. They immediately halted, gathered 
together in a close group, and seemed to be 
holding a consultation. Youngblood showed 
himself, and signaled to them to find out 
what tribe they belonged to, but they paid 
no attention whatever. He then signaled to 
know if they were friendly and what they 
wanted, but with no more success than 
formerly; his signals remained unanswered. 
He recognized at once that they meant no 
good, and hurried back to camp. He had 
scarcely time to get things in readiness, when 
he perceived that the Indians had formed, 
and were about to make an attack. The 
moment they started, he lay down flat on 
his stomach, and leveled his gun, prepared 
to drop the foremost as soon as he was near 



»'>"; t;,;?.t?«;.^,wjji5;j^ 



176 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

enough; but the Indian perceived his inten- 
tion, and whirling his horse about, galloped 
back. The next followed him, and the next 
in like manner, until the whole band was 
out of range, when they stopped and held 
another council. Youngblood climbed up to 
the top of his wagon to keep an eye on them, 
and saw that they were preparing to sur- 
round the camp. The hill was in the shape 
of a half-circle, and their plan was to go 
around back of it, and surprise the hunters 
by an attack from an unexpected place. As 
soon as Youngblood recognized their inten- 
tions, he told the boys to jump into the 
wagon and drive to the top of the hill as fast 
as they could, so as to intercept the red-skins. 
He himself sprang on his saddle-horse and 
dashed away to the summit, where the whole 
game at once became evident. They were 
coming round the hill, stationing one of their 
number about every 100 yards, and in a short 
time the whole place would have been sur- 
rounded. Youngblood threw himself off his 
horse, and crawled cautiously up to the crest 



IwJJBRiSTOi^^?^ 



AFTEE WILD HOESES AOAIlSr. 177 

of the hill, where he could have picked off 
an Indian at every shot; but before he 
had a chance to fire, they saw him, and 
recognizing that they were beaten, threw 
themselves flat upon their horses and dashed 
away, not stopping until they were entirely 
out of sight. 

They did not leave the hill that night, but 
picketed their horses and remained there till 
morning. Youngblood knew that there 
would be no further attack that night, but 
the boys were sure that they would get their 
hair lifted, and in the morning were afraid 
to go back to camp alone, so Youngblood 
accompanied them, and after laying in a 
good stock of provisions, started out to see 
what had become of the wild horses. These 
were found without difficulty, and Young- 
blood followed them, with various ups and 
downs, for fifteen days, at the end of which 
time they were tamed and docile. He then 
got one of the boys to help him, and began 
to drive them toward the station. He had 
had a long chase, and his saddle-horses were 

12 



178 A MIGHTY HUNTER, 

considerably jaded, so much so that when 
within about thirty-five miles of the station, 
he found that he would have to have fresh 
ones. There was nothing to be done except 
to leave the boys to manage as well as they 
could, while he rode forward, and procuring 
three fresh horses, returned to find them a 
little nearer than when he had left them. 
Everything went well until they attempted 
to corral them, in order to get them across 
the river. The horses were afraid to go into 
the corral, and could not be persuaded to 
do so, and so Youngblood gave it up as a bad 
job, and swam them across the river. He 
was a little afraid to attempt the experiment, 
but it turned out all right, and the next day 
he drove sixty-nine head into the station. 
This was a remarkably good haul; but catch- 
ing wild horses was, on the whole, by no 
means desirable work, and did not pay as 
well as one would suppose, as it was a long, 
wearisome job to capture a drove, and the 
horses being, as a rule, small and scrawny, 
sold for almost nothing. 



mmW^- 



AFTER WILD HORSES AGAIN. 179 

Tlifo was our hunter's last wild liorse chase 
for that season, for it suited him much bet- 
ter to hunt buffalo, and he managed to pro- 
cure a contract to furnish meat for the hotels. 

He sent his sons home, and hired a man 
named Black to go with him; but the Indians 
proved so troublesome that he only remained 
with him a few days, and Youngblood was 
left to hunt alone. He established his camp 
upon the Pawnee River, right on the old 
Indian trail, and went to work to see what 
he could accomplish single-handed. The 
first night he was left alone he began to have 
fears of the Indians, and during the night 
these fears grew upon him more and more, 
until he found it impossible to dismiss them. 
His apprehensions banished sleep, and the 
next morning he was up bright and early, 
and shifted his quarters to a place about 
three miles back on the river, but still on the 
trail. Somehow, however, he did not feel 
much safer there than he did before, so he 
hitched up his horses and drove to the top of 
a hill about a mile and a half further on. 



-Afer^^v^'^B^p;^ 



180 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

Here he lialted, and looking round to see wliat 
lie could see, discovered, a couple of miles to 
the northeast, something moving toward him. 
At first he thought it was buffalo, but in 
another moment he saw that it did not move 
like buffalo, and as the mass came nearer, he 
became aware that it consisted of mounted 
men, and he knew at once that it was a band 
of Indians moving toward him, and began 
to make prex^arations to give them a warm 
reception. He knew that the only show 'for 
him was to make a fight for it, and he began 
to seek for a position that would give him 
the most advantage possible. The most suit- 
able spot for a fight that he could see was a 
somewhat elevated i^lace about a quarter of 
a mile to his left. Here he posted himself, 
and commenced filling his empty cartridges. 
The Indians were rapidly approaching, and 
it seemed to him that his fingers were heavy 
as lead, and that, though he was working 
for dear life, he never made such slow prog- 
ress before. There v*^ere, fortunately, only 
six of the red-skins, and he was confident 




^^?^^^^!f''^T^"ti7^K'Tpm^-l 



AFTEK, WILD HOESES AGAIN. 181 

that, with anything like a fair show, he 
would escape with a whole skin. He lay- 
close until they were about . 200 yards off, 
when he rose and waved his frying-pan at 
them. With a yellj they dashed toward 
him, and although he motioned to them to 
stop, they i^aid no attention, but keiDt on at 
a break-neck pace. Dropping on one knee, 
he rested his gun on the other, and leveled 
it at the foremost. At this maneuver they 
whirled with their horses sideways toward 
him, and throwing themselves over on their 
saddles on the farthest side, hung over so 
that Youngblood could not see them at all. 
Occasionally they would peep over their 
horses' withers, to see v/hat he was doing, 
and to watch for an opportunity to rush 
upon him unawares. For some minutes 
Youngblood and his opponents remained in 
this relative j^osition, when suddenly the 
Indians slipped off their ponies on the oppo- 
site side, careful to keep their bodies pro- 
tected, but with an eye upon the hunter and 
his rifle all the while. Still holding his gun 



•",*■■•',■>■ i^.'V"', f/.V^^ T?m^ 



182 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

in a position to cover any one of them in an 
instant, Youngblood called ont to know 
what tribe they belonged to, but the only 
answer he could obtain was "Yah!" 

"Shriam?" he asked. 

"Yah!" came the answer. 

"Are you Ogallahs, Arrapahoes, Utes, ,or 
what?" 

The same unvarying reply was wafted 
back to him. He then lowered his gun, but 
still held it so he could bring it into i^osition 
at once. The Indians now began to separate, 
and moved to the right and left as though they 
intended to surround him. He motioned 
them with his gun to stay together, and 
they responded by gestures, signifying that 
they were hungry and wanted something to 
eat. Youngblood was pretty confident that 
this was only a trick to get him off his 
guard, so he moved cautiously toward the 
wagon, at the same time watching them very 
narrowly to surprise any suspicious move- 
ment on their part. He had taken only a 
few steps when one of them made a rush 




;«Rwrtfrr%'''J-^:f^f"^"W^?; "if £?••"■' 



AFTER WILD HOESES AGAIN. 183 

toward him, the most unfortunate action of 
his life, for, in less time than it takes to tell 
it, there was a sharp report— the Indian with 
a cry of " Ow! ow! ow!" covered his face 
with his hands and fell lifeless to the ground. 
Youngblood, with an imperious gesture, 
motioned the others to come to him, but 
warned them to keep close together, so that 
he could cover them with his gun. They 
came forward, leaving their guns hanging on 
their saddles, in pretense of friendship. 
When they were within perhaps fifteen 
paces, he ordered them to halt, an order they 
at once , obeyed, but expressed a desire to 
shake hands, constantly repeating, "How, 
how, how!" 

Our friend found himself in a decidedly 
delicate position, for they could, if they had 
chosen, easily have overpowered him by mere 
force of numbers; they were sure, however, 
that some of them would have to pay the 
penalty with their lives, and therefore did 
not care to make an open attack, but pre- 
ferred to take him at a disadvantage, if pos- 



-.'vv"v?^=^" 



184 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

sible. Yoiingblood, on his side, could easily 
liave shot one or more of them down, but lie 
was afraid to do so, for he did not know what 
effect such an action might have on the sur- 
vivors. It might terrify them so that they 
would run away, or it might exasperate them 
and cause them to attack and overpower 
him, which would be no difficult matter in 
the end, although he was determined to sell 
his life at the dearest possible price. It was 
the most trying time our hero ever experi- 
enced, and he can not look back on it now 
without a shudder. For more than an hour 
he held them at arm's, or rather gun's, 
length, when they gave up all hope of try- 
ing to shake hands with him, and began to 
try to steal back to their guns. But Young- 
blood was alive to the situation, and when 
one of them would make a move toward his 
horse, he instantly covered him and ordered 
him back to the squad. He noticed that one 
of them was doing his best to: assume a care- 
less air, and seemed to be aimlessly twirling 
a lariat which he held. in his hand.. After 



J!^l'5f?'!^^:l'^^!J^'^:?T?SV^^^ '- 



AFTER WILD HORSES AGAIN. , 185 

swinging it round for awhile, lie let it slip, 
apparently by accident, and oneend of it fell 
at tlie white man's feet. Here. he let it lie 
for a moment, and then began winding it up; 
but, instead of drawing the rope toward him, 
he followed it, gradually approaching nearer 
and nearer his enemy. Youngblood was too 
cunning and too well versed in Indian tac- 
tics not to understand this maneuver. He 
knew it was no time for dilly-dallying, and 
he at once put a stop to the, x3roceeding by 
an action which at the same time finished 
the existence of the wily strategist. The 
others, under cover of the smoke, sprang to 
.their horses and hurried away, quickly dis- 
appearing on the horizon, leaving their con- 
queror weak and faint, from the long- 
continued strain that had been imposed upon 
him. A little "later in the day, this same 
band ran across, a man named Matthews, 
who, with two other men, was driving a herd 
of cattle, and, by an appearance of the 
greatest friendship, succeeded in throw- 
ing them off their guard. After shaking 



i 'X.'T^.f'f^'^ 



186 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

hands witli tliem in the most cordial manner, 
they asked for something to eat— an Indian, 
by the way, is always hungry — and partook 
liberally of what was offered them. But 
they were only waiting for an opportunity, 
and no sooner did it appear than they shot 
two of their hosts down. Matthews, the 
survivor, sprang on his horse and dashed 
away in time to save his life, but not, how- 
ever, without receiving a severe bullet wound 
in the shoulder from a shot sent after him 
as he was fleeing. 

This incident in itself is sufiicient to show 
the treacherous nature of the red man of the 
forest, and how worthless are his professions 
of friendship. Youngblood declares that 
he never saw one that he could trust, and he 
firmly believes that his suspicions have more 
than once saved his life. The only Indians 
that he ever saw that were not dangerous 
were dead ones. 



^^^^rf^f^^-P. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

DISAPPOINTMENT — BAD WEATHER — FRIGHT- 
ENING A SCHOOL — A CLOSE SHAVE. 

After his little experience witli the Indians, 
Youngblood determined to stay alone no 
longer, and immediately went across to Sil- 
ver Lake to join an old hunter who was 
encamped there, and whose equal in a scrim- 
mage with red-skins it was hard to find. 
Many an Indian had dropped at the crack 
of his rifle, and he was well known among 
them and as universally feared as he was 
known. The two of them together, at ten 
minutes' notice, could have made it decidedly 
warm for any number of reds that were 
likely to attack them; but, to our friend's 
intense disapi)ointment, when he arrived at 
the camp he found that the hunter had 
gone into the station, and he was compelled 
to remain alone after all, with the Indians in 

(187) 



;>>v7r*?^,"W»™s!^i!' 



188 A MIGHTY HUNTER.. 

close i)roximity every day. He continued 
hunting for some time, however, without 
being molested by them, although he man- 
aged to get into some other scrapes that 
were not much pleasanter than an Indian 
fight., ^ : . 

One day, when he was out hunting, the sky 
clouded over, and a cold rain set in, which 
lasted forty-eight hours, completely soaking 
his blankets and chilling him to the bone. 
When the weather cleared, he went out for 
game, and, after going about four miles, 
found two large buffalo and succeeded in 
dispatching them both. It w^as still very 
cold for October, had clouded over again and 
was beginning to snow; so he turned out 
his team, and, after dressing the animals 
which he had killed, he dragged them close 
together, back to back, laid his blankets over 
them, and on top of the blankets spread the 
green hides with the hairy side down; he 
then crawled in between the hides and blank- 
ets and lay there for two days, until the storm 
was over. It was warm enough, but it was 




»Sp¥?S»P^,?W'*^« ■V^VT*'' ■ <".»W' V^.T/.r 



DISAPPOINTMENT. 189 

impossible to make a fire, and all that lie had 
to eat were a few handf ills of flour. While 
he lay there the buffalo swarmed all around 
him, and, as soon as the wea,ther allowed, 
he commenced to scatter them. He killed 
two, and, loading the four on his wagon, 
drove through the slushy roads, for the snow 
was now melting, to the place where he had 
camped during the rain-storm, and discov- 
ered that a band of Indians had been there, 
and had but recently left. It was a narrow 
escape, but "amiss is as good as a mile," 
and there was no use in getting frightened 
after the danger was all over. This particu- 
lar spring was a famous camping place, di- 
rectly on the Indian trail, but as much 
frequented by white men as by red-skins. 
He thought he might find some game further 
on, and, with this end in view, drove for sev- 
eral miles, but without success, and so con- 
cluded to return to town with what he 
already had. As he repassed the spring, he 
saw that a squad of Indians were in jDosses- 
sion. The only reason he would have for 



' !;':."-.-^- v.--^-:T»'"'"^^^'^\F'',^1rP«w 



190 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

stopping would be to obtain water, but as 
the melted snow was entirely sufficient to 
quench his thirst, there "vv^as no occasion to 
run the risk of a fight, and he passed them 
about half a mile away. 

About a mile further on, he discovered 
three buffalo lying with their backs toward 
him. At first he hesitated about killing 
them, for the report of his gun would 
probably apprise the unsuspecting Indians 
of his whereabouts; but the temptation was 
too great, and, driving as near as he dared, 
he took his gun and stole cautiously toward 
them. When he was close upon them, to his 
horror he discovered three red-skins coming 
up on the other side. They perceived him 
at almost the same time, and for some 
minutes they stood perfectly still, watching 
each other. Youngblood, however, soon grew 
tired of the inaction, and advanced again on 
the buffalo, keeping one eye on the Indians 
as he did so. As soon as the animals rose 
to their feet, he shot them down one after 
the other. He then brought up his wagon, 



|PP"?PP'f!!i^!iFF^*- '-- ^ .-- 



DISAPPOINTMENT. 191 

and placing it between himself and the 
Indians, who had squatted down on the 
ground and were calmly watching his pro- 
ceedings, began skinning the game, but with- 
out relaxing his vigilance. The red-skins did 
not seem to be disposed to any act of hostil- 
ity, and he finished his work, loaded the 
meat on his wagon, and drove away without 
being in the slightest degree disturbed. 

On his arrival in Sherlock, he found the 
town in the greatest excitement over the 
Indian outrages and the killing of Gfeneral 
Custer and his command, which was an event 
of recent occurrence. As Youngblood had 
been out so long, his friends felt certain that 
he had met with a fate similar to the one 
which had befallen that gallant band. Uncle 
Sam had kindly fed and fattened the red 
devils until they were in excellent fighting 
trim and were ready for all atrocities. In 
dozens of localities people had been sur- 
prised by them and shot down like wild 
beasts; some, moreover, being tortured and 
mutilated in the most revolting manner, and 



192 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

others scalx)ed and left to die a lingering 
death. In one place they attacked a school 
presided over by a lady teacher. They did 
not kill any of the pupils, for a wonder, but 
satisfied themselves with frightening them 
almost to death. They jDulled their hair, 
thumx)ed them, banged them, pretended to 
tomahawk them, and yelled with laughter 
when the terrified girls begged for their lives. 
Three young ladies of the school were strip- 
ped entirely naked and told to go home in 
that condition. After sufficiently amusing 
themselves, the fiends left, but the outraged 
people rose en masse in pursuit. The 
Indians had stolen a great many horses and 
cattle, and the cowboys, who are more than a 
match for the reds and delight in fighting 
them, were especially eager in their desire 
for vengeance. So keen was the chase that 
when the devils saw their chief, Sitting 
Bull, again, it was with greatly depleted 
ranks. 

The troops finally came to the relief of 
the people, but there is so much red tape in 



~IPrv'f;-5''i4 '--r-: r 7" ■T ^- -.*. : 



DISAPPOINTMENT. 193 

all their actions that they nearly always 
move too slow to catch Indians. Good 
work in this raid, however, should be cred- 
ited to Colonel Lewis, who, with several of 
his men, was killed in an engagement on 
White Woman Creek. When this deplora- 
ble affair took place, Youngblood was hunt- 
ing on the same creek, but he did not take 
much part in the fighting, as he was of the 
opinion that if the Government fed and fat- 
tened the Indians, and employed soldiers to 
kill them when in good condition, it was as 
well to allow those whose business it was to 
attend to it, to do so. Still, although he 
took no active part in the hostilities, his busi- 
ness brought him into frequent collision with 
the red-skins, but all the fighting he did was 
purely a matter of self-defense, and he made 
it a point not to indulge in any unnecessary 
conflict. 

One evening, a few days after the battle 
on White Woman Creek, Youngblood, who 
was out with a man named Frank Howard, 
saw something in a side draw of the creek 

13 



•■;-^'.Vr^^iSv^^?>73'!i'^ 



194 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

which he supposed to be buffalo, but the air 
was so filled with smoke that he could not 
distinguish to a certainty. When with- 
in about half a mile, he found, by aid of his 
field-glass, that it was a band of Indians 
lying on the ground, holding their horses by 
their bridles. Tliis was somewhat alarming, 
and our hunter began to fear that they had 
scouts stationed all about. He told Howard 
that the best thing to be done was to with- 
draw a few hundred yards to a ravine or 
washout, and remain there for the night. 
This was a good position, and would afford 
them a fair opportunity to repel any attack 
that might be made upon them. They hur- 
ried their supper and ]3ut out the fire as soon 
as possible, that it might not betray their 
position. They then made the best prepara- 
tions for defense they could, and sat down 
to watch and wait. Shortly after dark, the 
dog, with an incessant barking and growling, 
began to dash savagely up and down the 
ravine, and then run back with his tail be- 
tween his legs, thoroughly frightened. 



mrfy^s^^^:: 



DISAPPOHSTTMENT. 195 

From these actions, Youngblood knew that 
the Indians were prying about the camp 
with no good intent, and he warned his com- 
panion to be in readiness to go to work at a 
moment' s notice. It was too dark and smoky 
to see any great distance, so how near the 
enemy really was there was no way of tell- 
ing. After a while the dog quieted down, 
and then the two men took turns in watch- 
ing during the night. As soon as it was 
light, they examined the ground around the 
camping place, and found that the Indians 
had been within twenty paces of them. They 
were a remnant of the band that had fought 
with Lewis a few days before, and probably 
made no attack upon the two hunters be- 
cause they were dodging the soldiers, and 
were anxious to escape from that part of the 
country. 

The whites were not the only ones to suffer 
during this outbreak, for the Indians were 
compelled to undergo severe privations. As 
an example, when they were scattered in the 
fight on White Woman, an old squaw and a 



196 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

pappoose about seven year's old could not 
get away, and, to avoid being captured, hid 
themselves in a washout. When the sol- 
diers left they did not know what to do or 
where to go, as their tribe was broken up, 
and so they remained where they were. 
They could obtain plenty of water, but there 
was nothing to eat except the carcasses of 
the animals that had been slain during the 
fight, and so severe was their hunger that 
when, after some time, they were discovered 
and taken prisoners to Fort Dodge, they had 
almost entirely eaten up a mule, the flesh of 
which was horribly putrefied, and the squaw 
and child emitted an odor scarcely less over- 
powering. 




i^|JipS!^?|ffiTP|P5?5^»sq??T <^ ^ '■:*•' 



CHAPTER XYII. 

ENGLISHMEN ON A LARK — BETTER SHOTS AT 
BEER-BOTTLES THAN BUFFALO — A TUSSLE 
WITH A CALF — HOWARD IN TROUBLE — 
DODGING A DETECTIVE. 

It was not long after the Indian outbreak 
that five Englishmen came to Lakin Station 
on a lark. They were not peers of the realm, 
dukes, marquises, or earls, but honest, 
healthy, well-bred inhabitants of the "right 
little, tight little island," who had come to 
this country on a sight-seeing tour, and were 
determined to have a good time. They had 
plenty of money, and spent it right royally, 
having their fun and paying for it, too. 

Their object in coming to Lakin was to have 
a buffalo-hunt on the plains, and who better 
could be found to lead them on that amuse- 
ment than the old and experienced scout and 
hunter, Youngblood. As they intended to 
do the shooting themselves (they were pro- 

(197) 



198 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

vided with the best of guns — a rifle and a 
shotgun apiece), he consented to act as their 
guide for $5 a day, which they pronounced 
cheap enough. 

A two-horse carriage was procured, and 
a full stock of provisions and ammuni- 
tion laid in. Youngblood did not ride in 
the carriage, but took his own wagon and 
team, so as to be ready for business when 
they got tired of paying their $5 a day. 

From Lakin they drove in a northeasterly 
direction; and when about twenty miles out, 
the Englishmen received their first sensation 
in the shape of a large rattlesnake, which 
they were greatly interested in. Youngblood 
made it "sing" for them, and when he finally 
killed it, one of them kept the skin to be 
made into a hat-band. Then they all pro- 
ceeded to take a swig of beer, of which they 
had brought a large quantity, and made a bet 
as to who could break the bottle when tossed 
up into the air. Finally one succeeded, and 
they reentered the carriage, ready to proceed 
with the journey; but they had only gone a 



fi^^mr'Tf^'^f^iWf'' 'T-"'W f^ ■- 



ENGLISHMEN ON A LAEK. 199 

short distance, wlien one of them, who had 
his head out of the window, exclaimed, 
"J^prd, look there!" and called out to the 
driver to stop. Youngblood supposed, of 
course, that he had discovered a buffalo or 
something of that sort; but not being able to 
perceive any himself, followed the direction 
of the Englishman's eyes, and saw that the 
object over which he was almost going into 
hysterics was a large specimen of terrapin. 
They all clambered out, turned the novel 
beast over with their boots, poked it with 
their guns, and, after they were satisfied, 
drank another bottle, made a bet as to who 
could hit it, broke it, got into the carriage 
again, and drove off. 

Perhaps a mile further on, four antelope 
came dashing by at full speed; and then 
there was a scene of unparalleled excitement 
indeed. All five of them jumped out with 
their guns and began firing as fast as they 
could. Bullet after bullet whistled through 
the air, and the poor antelope ran for dear 
life, badly scared, but not seriously injured, 



-fs^sf^p^wpj'? 



200 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

and probably not mucli more excited than 
tlie Englislimen themselves. The hunters 
were badly disappointed at the loss of tlieir 
game, but consoled themselves by drinking 
another bottle and breaking it as before. 

They camped for the night on a small creek, 
and when they arose the next morning, could 
see the antelope scurrying about in all direc- 
tions. The animals seemed to be tolerably 
tame, and the pleasure-hunters kept blazing 
away at them as they passed until afternoon, 
but, to their chagrin, without any other effect 
than that of frightening the j)Tetty creatures. 

When they stopped for dinner, one of them, 
who was known among his companions by 
the sobriquet of "Calamity Jane," full of dis- 
gust at their ill success, suggested that they 
put "the old man," meaning Youngblood, 
to shooting, or otherwise they would be 
likely to starve before they got back to the 
station. "Because," he added, "we have 
fired five hundred shots to-day and killed 
nothing, and if this thing is kept up we will 
soon be out of ammunition and have no game 



j^^lf^limwf^sT^^f^t ^^ 



ENGLISHMEN ON A LARK. 201 

to show for it." The question was then put 
to vote, and it was agreed, without a dissent- 
ing voice, that their guide should kill them 
an antelope. 

Youngblood was nothing loath, and told 
them if they would all stay in the car- 
riage he thought he might, perhaps, man- 
age to get them an antelope for supper. 
Long before the camping-place was reached 
he spied a drove, and, getting quietly out of 
the wagon, he slipped up as close to them as 
he could. He did not want to run any 
chances of missing, after having poked so 
much fun at the marksmanship of the 
others; so when near enough to shoot, 
he lay down in the grass and waited 
for a good opportunity. This was not slow 
in coming. In a few moments he had two 
within range, and, taking careful aim, fired, 
bringing both of them down at the first shot. 
At this the men leaped out of their carriage 
and came running up to the successful sports- 
man, more excited, if possible, than when 
they had fired the forty or fifty shots at 



202 A MIGHTY HUNTEK. 

tlie four scared beasts. After tliey liad 
thoroughly examined and wondered over the 
first dead antelope they had ever seen, 
Youngblood removed the entrails, threw the 
carcasses upon the wagon, and the procession 
was resumed. The Englishmen still kept on 
firing at antelope, badgers, hawks, and 
whatever they saw, but without doing much 
execution, until they came to Clear Creek, 
where they were to camp for the night. 
Here they had better success, for there were 
ducks galore, and in duck-shooting they 
were, so to speak, on their native heath; and 
with the ducks and the antelope, the supper 
was a feast fit for a king. 

In the morning they harnessed up again, 
and drove in a northwesterly direction to 
Bear Creek, where they camped for that 
night. The next day they came upon their 
first buffalo, a splendid herd. The English 
gentlemen were very anxious to kill them 
all, and they jumped out of the carriage and 
started boldly toward them, very much as if 
they thought the buffalo would be delighted 




i3^3JJ0^P>wi!iWl«JKV;s iC'"?»?"-.fVV5.'> /■f^;^;"' y^ (■'^^•'^^'^■^^r.r^^T^i^i:^^'f-'''/''Vr'r^rrr^'})'vp!;f'fi(f^, 



ENGLISHMEN ON A LAEK. 203 

to see them; but when they were within about 
a quarter of a mile of them, the animals raised 
their heads, and, taking a short survey, 
galloped off, leaving the nabobs sadly disap- 
pointed. They complained bitterly of their 
bad luck to Youngblood, but he could not 
refrain from laughing, and told them that 
they had done much better than he had 
expected, as he had thought they would 
frighten them away before they had got 
half so near. 

It was with considerable reluctance, nev- 
ertheless, that they gave up the buffalo 
and returned, for the rest of the day, to 
their former occupation of firing at ante- 
lope and fowl, but with their usual luck. 

That night the camp was pitched on a small 
creek called Rocky Branch, and, while eat- 
ing breakfast in the morning, one of them 
said, with a rather wry face: "Mr. Young- 
blood, how much do we owe you«" 

"Well," said the hunter, "I have been 
with you for five days and at $5 a day, that 
would make $26!" 



■:-ft^ff-v.^:^^-p:^iy^ 



204 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

The money was i)aid, and they then 
announced that they had done hunting, and 
wanted to see him shoot a little. 

"All right," said Youngblood. "If you 
stay with me awhile, I shall probably shoot 
something." 

They then moved about six miles, to White 
Woman Creek, where a large herd of buffalo 
was struck. Youngblood killed one the 
first shot, and then getting a "stand" on 
them, killed seven more. During the after- 
noon he succeeded in potting four antelope. 
When they stopped for the night, he cooked 
some of the buffalo humps for the English- 
men, who thought it the finest meat they 
had ever tasted. The hunter could aiot resist 
having a little fun with them on account of 
their shooting. 

"Why," he said, "you had me for five 
days for $25, and got nothing, and in one day 
I have made twice that amount." 

They took it good-naturedly, and let him 
joke all he wanted as they drove back to the 
station, where they had more of the humps 



!fVv^»^'f^-*W^>y- '?*.*^™' 



ENGLISHMEN ON A LAEK. 205 

for dinner, but they did not like them as 
well as those Youngblood had cooked on the 
prairie, and finally insisted on his cooking 
them some more himself. 

Youngblood remained but one day at the 
station with his English friends before bid- 
ding, them farewell and starting out again 
for the range with Howard, a former com- 
panion of his. 

At White Woman Creek a large herd of 
buffalo was found. They were standing in the 
creek drinking, but before Youngblood could 
get near enough, they came out of the water 
and started away. He fired on them at long 
range, and killed a large cow. She was just 
going up the bank, and when the bullet 
struck her, she rolled down the steep bank, 
about twelve feet, and, falling into the soft 
mud, went almost entirely under. The two 
men worked for a long time trying to extri- 
cate her, but she was so firmly imbedded in 
the mud that they found it impossible to 
move her, gave it up as a bad job, and went 
on after the herd. Several shots were fired. 



206 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

but with little or no success, tlie only dam- 
age done being tlie breaking tlie shoulder of 
a calf about six months old. The disabled 
calf could not keep up with the rest, and . 
they followed it along up the bed of a side 
draw until they perceived the herd had 
stojjped to rest further up the draw. The 
calf had got pretty well tired out by this time, 
and could easily have been shot, but Young- 
blood did not want to alarm the herd, so he 
headed it off and started in to catch it. He 
could get tolerably close to it, but hot close 
enough to lay hands on it, and every time it 
passed him, it would show fight. It was 
small, and, concluding that he could push it 
off without much difficulty, he finally stood 
his ground. The calf came on, shaking its 
head viciously, and when within a few feet of 
him, made a sudden dash at him like an old 
ram. Youngblood had no time to even raise 
his hands, and in another moment the calf 
was upon him, knocked him down, and began 
trampling upon him. Finding that it did 
not mean to let him go, he reached up, seized 



wpf?Wf^!ff^r?T^'^Wf^^ 



If :7' '■^^rfvyj. j^'^*' 



ENGLISHMEN ON A LAEK. 207 

it by the ears, and, after quite a tussle, suc- 
ceeded in throwing it off, and finished it with 
his knife. 

After dressing it, the hunters started on 
after the herd, but had to follow them 
twelve miles before they could get a shot 
at them, and then only succeeded in kill- 
ing one, which ran on about three hun- 
dred yards before it fell. This was on 
Beaver Creek, and the beavers had built a 
dam which made it impossible to cross with 
the wagon. As it was now about sundown, 
Youngblood told Howard to turn the horses 
out, and he would go over and skin the buf- 
falo. He crossed the creek on the beaver 
dam, but had hardly begun dressing his 
game when he noticed, some three-quarters of 
a mile away, three men on horseback coming 
toward him. Thinking them to be Indians, 
he hurried back and told Howard to gather 
up the ammunition and be ready to reioel 
an attack. It proved to be a false alarm, 
however, as the riders turned out to be cow- 
boys who were hunting up some lost cattle. 



''' ■By-T'S^^r 



208 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

For sometime past Youngblood had ob- 
served that his partner, Howard, did not 
seem to be in an easy frame of mind, and he 
concluded that he had got into trouble some- 
where, and was afraid of the consequences. 
He had often met men of this description out 
on the plains, and he had let the matter pass 
without remarks or inquiries. But when 
they were about to start in this time with 
their load of meat, Howard grew more nerv- 
ous and uneasy than ever, and was so palpa- 
bly disturbed and worried that he made up 
his mind to speak to him about it and give 
him a chance to unload himself of his bur.- 
den and relieve the strain upon his mind. 

So, when the opportunity offered, as they 
were driving along, he asked him if anything 
was troubling him, and if he could do any- 
thing to help him. 

"Do I look as if anything was bothering 
me?" inquired Howard, with a sorrowful 
smile. 

"Yes, you do," answered Youngblood. 
" I have seen many a man in your condition, 



fi-3gi^^*^.isi,7-m7p-:? 



ENGLISHMEN ON A LAEK. 209 

and I can guess pretty well what is the mat- 
ter with you. If you are in a difficulty and 
half-way innocent, I will try to help you in 
some way or other; and even if you are 
guilty of some crime, I will agree not to give 
you away; so spit it out, and let'-s see what 
can be done. It is my opinion that you made 
away with some fellow in the place where 
you came from; but, whatever it is, let's have 
it." 

At these last words Howard looked utterly 
astounded, and, as soon as he could recover 
from his amazement, said, stammeringly: 

"Well, you're a pretty good guesser. I 
am in trouble, and in the way you say, but 
I am not guilty of willful murder, although 
I confess that I dread the consequences of 
being caught. I'll tell you the whole truth. 
This is the way it happened : At Fort Scott, 
Missouri, I traded horses with a jockey — 
well, I just traded horses, that's all; but the 
next day he came to me and insisted that I 
trade back, saying that I had cheated him 
by lying about my horse. I told him that I 

14 



7"W*^T> 



210 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

never traded back; when I traded and found 
myself cheated, I had to stand by my bar- 
gain, and, on the other hand, if I hapxDen to 
make a good trade, I mean to keep it. At 
this he grew furious, and said he would make 
me trade back; but I told him that he would 
do nothing of the sort. Then he flew at me 
with his rawhide whip and began lashing me 
over the head and face with it. This was 
more than I could stand, and as he was a big 
bully, I drew my knife and used it with fatal 
effect. As soon as I realized what I had done, 
I hastened to make my escape — not because 
I was afraid of being hanged, but because I 
knew that to clear myself would cause me a 
heap of trouble and cost me a lot of money. 
I had no friends with me at the time, and I 
knew that the few spectators were reckless 
men and greatly prejudiced against me. But 
what worries me most just now is that I 
have sent for my family to meet me at Lakin; 
they will be there to-morrow or next day, and 
I have been thinking that the officers may 
follow them and trace me out in that way. 




5s3»3fWW'l6'"?i«?7?i5'!i«'*^^ ^''■f'T' '^■■^T^^^'ifT;- ■ vS 'TW's^; 



ENGLISHMEN ON A LARK. 211 

Now, Mr. Youngblood, what I want to know 
is this : Do you blame me for nsing my 
knife on him, and will you do anything 
against mel" 

"No," was the prompt answer, "I do not 
blame you at all, if it happened the way you 
say, and I will do anything I can to help 
you; so, if you have anything you want me 
to do, let me hear it." 

" I have nothing I want you to do just at 
present," he replied, "except that when we 
are near the station, I would like to have you 
go in first, if you will, and find out if there 
are any strangers in town. If so, try to dis- 
cover if they are from Fort Scott or there- 
abouts, and what their business is. And, by 
the way, if my family should be there al- 
ready, you can tell them how matters are, 
and let me know as soon as you can how the 
land lies." 

Youngblood promised to fulfill his wishes, 
and accordingly, the next morning, went in 
alone. Soon after his arrival in Lakin, he 
noticed a stranger hanging about, but;, pay- 



212 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

ing no attention to him for the moment, be- 
gan getting rid of his load of meat. In a few- 
moments the stranger came np to the wagon, 
and, examining the meat, remarked care- 
lessly that it was the first he had ever seen. 

"Indeed," said Youngblood, feigning 
astonishment; "why, where do you come 
from?" 

"From Fort Scott, near Missouri." 

This was enough to convince our friend 
that he was a detective hunting for How- 
ard, and he could not help wondering at his 
being so stupid as to tell where he came from, 
and so giving himself away. The man 
evinced much interest in Youngblood, and 
followed him about, talking to him at every 
opportunity. 

"Let me see," he asked at last, "what 
is your name?" 

Youngblood saw no harm in giving that 
information, and told him his name. 

' ' Do you hunt for a living?' ' 

"Yes." 

"Do you hunt by yourself?" 



f^l^iPS^ll^^!^?^7^fr^'fif!^ 



ENGLISHMEN ON A LARK. 213 

*' Well, sometimes I do." 

*' Have you anybody with you now?" 

"Yes, but I don't know where he is." 

"Are you going out again?" 

"Yes." 
. "When?" 

"I don't know; it depends upon circum- 
stances. I may go out to-morrow, and I may 
not go out for a week or more." 

" Well," said the stranger, with a sidelong 
glance, "if you go out to-morrow, I would 
like to go with you." 

Youngblood calmly told him that he would 
see about it, and left him. 

When he reached the hotel, he found that 
Howard' s family were indeed there, but the 
detective, who had followed him, watched 
him so closely that he could find no chance to 
speak to Mrs. Howard. He was very roughly 
dressed and his clothes were bloody, and the 
woman, as she afterward confessed, at first 
took him for a des^Derado, reeking with the 
blood of his victims. As soon, however, as 
she found out that he was the "old hunter" 



214 A MIGHTY HUJSTTER. 

whom her husband was with, she longed to 
speak to hhn, but did not dare to do so in the 
presence of the stranger, whom she had 
noticed getting on and off the cars every time 
she did, and had pretty well made up her 
mind as to his identity. 

The chance came, however, at last, and 
Youngblood found a safe opportunity to tell 
her where her husband was. The poor 
woman begged him to help them to outwit 
the detective and effect their escape. He 
promised to do so, and, about 10 o'clock that 
night, he sliiDped out of town, went to How- 
ard and reported what he had seen and heard, 
telling him to lie close until the next night, 
when he would try to get him away. 

All the next day Youngblood strolled about 
the station, and spent considerable time in 
the company of the stranger from Fort Scott. 
He took care to announce in his presence 
that he intended to go on another hunt soon, 
and told him that if his partner did not 
return he would be glad of his (the detect- 
ive's) company. The other professed himself 



■«r-^*y;!!5tv«>;ji'^T.p4» 



EITGLISHMEN ON A LAEK. 215 

anxious to go, and the two parted fast friends. 
But, alas for human calculations! When the 
Fort Scott man got up the next morning, he 
found that the woman and children he had 
followed so carefully from Missouri had 
disappeared — no one knew where. 

It is needless to say that this strange van- 
ishing was due to Youngblood. As soon as 
all the village was still in sleep, he had har- 
nessed up his team, and, taking Howard's, 
family with him, had driven to the place 
where the fugitive lay concealed, and started 
the whole party to Colorado, telling them 
to keep hidden during the day and travel 
only by night. He got back to the hotel in 
time for breakfast; and when the detective 
missed Mrs. Howard and her children, he 
evidently at once suspected the hunter of 
knowing something about the matter, for he 
gave him a sharp, scrutinizing look, as if he 
thought that he could tell how they got 
away, if he chose. He said nothing, how- 
ever; but, as good luck would have it, some- 
one told him that a woman with children 



216 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

had boarded a train tliat passed through, 
during the night; so he took the first train 
he could that went in the same direction, 
left on a false scent, and Youngblood never 
saw him again. 

Howard was afterward caught, taken back 
to Fort Scott, tried, and acquitted. He is 
now working as a fireman on the Atchison, 
Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. 



PIP^PPfF'WS'!^'?^ 



^^"?f,»:it" "■•■■!'!: 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

A SUDDEN EISE — THE INTELLIGENT BEAVER 
— NO BADGER FOR THE DOGS. 

Howard's enforced flight left Youngblood 
without a hand; but lie soon procured one, a 
man named Henderson, who owned a good 
team, which, with Youngblood' s own, made 
a capital hunting outfit. On their first expe- 
dition they went to White Woman Creek. 
On their way they saw hundreds of anteloj^e, 
but as this was not the game they were look- 
ing for, they did not disturb them. As 
they could find no buffalo, they crossed the 
creek and camped for the night, shooting an 
antelope for supper. 

The next day they moved on to Beaver 
Creek, and again stopped for the night, 
camping under the bluff, about twenty yards 
from the water. It was cool, clear weather, 
and the creek was very low; but when they 
got up in the morning, they were astounded 

(317) 



' "i\"\ 'Ti:/'f'.if'tt>^ 



218 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

to find themselves surrounded by water. 
This was all the more surprising as it had 
not rained a drop during the night. Strive 
as they would, they could not understand 
the phenomenon; but there was no doubt 
about the fact that the water had risen from 
four inches to six feet, and evidently this was 
not the result of any freshet, for the water 
was not in the slightest degree muddy. 

They waded out, getting uncomfortably 
wet in the operation, and, after breakfast, 
proceeded down the creek to investigate the 
sudden rise. The cause must be some stop- 
page below, Youngblood thought, and, sure 
enough, they had not gone far when they 
came to a big beaver dam, which the beavers 
were hard at work repairing. At once the 
cause of the remarkable rise of the creek 
was explained, and the mystery was a mys- 
tery no longer. The dam had recently 
broken and allowed the water in the creek 
to run out, and the beavers had filled up 
the break during the night, occasioning the 
overflow. 



pp?!i^^pw'?pir'T™ '^ 



A SUDDElSr RISE. 219 

It may not be out of place here, and will 
prove interesting to the reader, to give a short 
sketch of the habits of this singularly intelli- 
gent little animal. 

The beaver is about three times as large as 
the.common raccoon, with which all are famil- 
iar — usually at least two feet in length from 
the nose to the root of the tail. The tail, 
which the animals use as a trowel, is about 
ten inches in length and an inch thick, broad, 
flat, and covered with scales. They are very 
aquatic in their mode of life, and seldom 
wander far from a lake or river. Their hind 
feet are spread out like those of a goose, and 
webbed, which make them peculiarly good 
swimmers, and they have the power of stay- 
ing a remarkably long time under water. 
Their teeth are heavy and pointed, and so 
strong that they are able to cut down large 
trees with them. Their houses, which are 
the admiration of mankind, are cone-shaped, 
buUt of sticks and mud, with the entrance 
under the water, and the different lodges are 
connected by passages. When the depth of 



'^^y'^^i^n^. 



220 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

water is not sufficient, the beavers build a 
dam, near wliich the house or lodge is placed. 
These dams are built of mud, sticks, logs, 
and even large trees — the latter cut down with 
their teeth, at some point above the dam, and 
carried to the proper place by floating them 
down the current. The walls of the lodges 
are very thick, and the whole structure is 
not only very warm, but affords ample pro- 
tection from wolves and other beasts of prey. 
To one who has never seen a beaver town 
and dam, the sight is as wonderful and 
instructive an one as anything that could 
possibly be shown him. 

Leaving the beaver dam that had been the 
cause of so much astonishment to them, 
Youngblood and his companion passed down 
the creek about twenty miles, and crossed to 
the Twin Lakes, about which they found 
quantities of antelope, and decided to stop 
right there and kill a load. Henderson 
turned out the horses, and Youngblood got 
down to work with his trusty rifle, and soon 
had twenty-four carcasses stretched out 



Sj j fl j ^^ffljj! |i;j Jt»^ ^ 



■rj*;iiri-:^-^\V:,--;-yyf^- 



A SUDDEN KISE. 221 

before him. The next morning he also 
obtained a large buffalo which came down to 
water. This made their load, both wagons 
being filled to repletion, and they pulled in 
to Sherlock, where they sold out for $71, one ■ 
third of which went to Henderson. 

They stayed in Sherlock only one night 
and were off again, this time going along the 
bed of the Pawnee River, where they felt 
pretty certain to find buffalo; but in this 
they were disappointed, for on their arrival 
they found that the Indians had been there 
and had chased them out of the country on 
horseback. To hunt them with horses 
frightens the buffalo badly, and when once 
stampeded from this cause, they do not soon 
stop. Finding, therefore, their hopes of 
buffalo vain, the partners proceeded to kill 
a load of antelope, which they carried to 
Pierceville, the nearest station. 

They then took another shoot, going south 
to the Arkansas River. Youngblood had 
always found buffalo plenty in this region, 
and supposed he would do so again. But, as 



222 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

it turned out, he was no luckier than he had 
been at Pawnee River; for they had driven 
scarcely more than twenty miles south when 
they came to where the prairie had been 
recently burned, and for the two succeeding 
days they saw nothing but an arid waste of 
blackened ground. The worst of all was 
that they had taken very little " grub " with 
them, expecting to find plenty of game, but 
all the game had been driven away by the 
fire. They had two dogs with them, which 
soon began to manifest decided symptoms 
of hunger; but as they had almost nothing 
for themselves, they did not deem it exactly 
prudent to divide with their canine comrades. 
At last Youngblood sj)ied a badger lying 
near his hole, and shot him for the dogs, but 
the dainty animals would not touch it. He 
thought they would probably get hungry 
enough to eat it before long, so he threw it 
into the wagon and took it along; when they 
camped that night, he offered it to them 
again, but they were not ready for it yet. 
He then dressed it and roasted it nicely, but 



P£jr»:3!J^??H!ff»«™9:7^Tr^^ 



A SUDDElsr EISE. 223 

stm they would have nothing of it. He left 
it before them, however, and by morning the 
pangs of hunger got the best of them, and 
they devoured every atom of it. 

About 2 o'clock the next day the north 
fork of Cimarron Creek was reached, and 
just as they struck the creek Henderson 
pointed to a hill about a hundred yards to 
the left of them, saying : '' There are four 
buffalo heads; some hunter has been here not 
long ago." 

Youngblood jumped upon the wagon to 
get a good look at them, but in a moment he 
warned his companion to squat down for 
those heads were still attached to the buf- 
falo. He took his gun, and, coming as close 
to them as he dared, saw that one was a cow 
and the other three were young ones He 
concluded, therefore, to Mil the cow first, as 
he wonld then be pretty apt to get them all; 
and this conjecture proved correct, for the 
old one never got up after the first bullet 
struck her, and in two minutes all four were 
dead. It is needless to state that the little 



224 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

party fared sumptuously that niglit, dogs 
and all. 

The next day tliey drove ten miles, which 
brought them out of the burnt district. 
Youngblood then mounted a high hill, and, 
scanning the broad extent of horizon with his 
iifeld-glass, discovered, about six miles ahead, 
a large herd of the game he was in search of. 
He drove as close as was possible with the 
wagon, and then got out, and, shooting one 
down, got a "stand" on the herd, and soon 
killed all that could be hauled in both 
wagons. 

As they were driving into town, they saw 
a large herd close to the road, and, as they 
wished to pay them a visit in the near future, 
when they could take care of some of them, 
they drew quietly up in the shade of a clump 
of trees, in order not to frighten them. The 
buffalo soon moved out of the road, and the 
hunters drove rapidly to the station, where 
they disposed of their meat as quickly as pos- 
sible, and, hiring a hand to go with them, 
started back for the herd they had left. 



A SUDDEN EISE. 225 

Youngblood was pretty confident that they 
would be found in the vicinity of Bear Creek, 
as they were heading in that direction, and 
with that expectation he drove up the creek, 
keeping a sharp outlook on both sides. After 
traveling about forty miles, however, the 
party were overtaken by a severe snow-storm, 
which left about six inches of snow on the 
ground, and compelled them to lay over for 
two days in the bed of Bear Creek. 

On the morning of the third day, as 
Youngblood was busily engaged in making a 
fire, he was startled by a fearful racket close 
at hand. Running up a bank to find out 
what it all meant, he saw a buffalo fighting 
desperately with four ravenous wolves. The 
wolf, as a rule, is quite unable to contend 
with the buffalo; but a pack of them will 
often hang around a herd to devour calves 
which may stray, or aged animals which have 
become too weak to keep up with the rest, 
and even these are apt to deal death to many 
of their assailants before they are forced to 
yield to numbers. In this case, the buffalo 

15 



A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

had been hurt in some way across the loins, 
and could no longer run. The wolves kept 
flying at it, first from one side and then the 
other, and tearing out great mouthfuls at 
each Jump, in their hungry pertinacity. But 
they were destined never to enjoy their feast, 
for at the appearance of the hunter they 
fled howling away, leaving him in undisputed 
possession of the prize. 

As the snow and delay had ruined all 
chances of finding the expected buffalo, 
Youngblood turned south toward the north 
fork of Cimarron Creek, where they ran 
across a herd of fourteen, of which they cap- 
tured eleven. This made out the load, and 
they drove back to the station again. 

When they arrived in Lakin, they found 
three men there, from New York, who had 
never seen a live buffalo. They examined 
the load of meat very curiously, and finally 
asked Youngblood what he would charge to 
let them go with him the next time he went 
out hunting. They said they merely wanted 
to go along to see the sights, and not to take 




V-- 



^jr^^lK'ifSIR^T^'V^f'r: i^": '•!■ 



A SUDDEK EISE. 227 

any active part in the shooting. Youngblood 
told them that he would let them go for a 
dollar apiece a day — terms which they were 
only too glad to accept. So, as soon as every- 
thing could be got in readiness, they started 
from Lakin and went south of the Arkansas 
River to the head-waters of North Fork 
Creek, about thirty miles back. They camped 
for the night on the creek. Snow fell during 
the night to the depth of about four inches, 
so they were obliged to wait in the morning 
until it had thawed somewhat. It was 10 
o'clock before they harnessed up; they drove 
about fifteen miles up the creek, when 
Youngblood began to think it was about 
time to strike some buffalo; so he mounted 
to quite a lofty hill, where he could get a 
good view for miles, and eagerly swept the 
landscape with his glass. There were im- 
mense numbers of horses and cattle to be 
seen in all directions, and, after gazing for 
some time, he at last made out a herd of 
buffalo about five miles away. 
When he returned to the wagon and 



A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

informed his companions of his discovery, 
their joy knew no bounds, and they were all 
anxiety to be oil at once, a desire that 
Youngblood himself was only too glad to 
gratify. They soon got on lower ground, and 
for some time were out of sight of the herd; 
but they kept steadily on their course, and 
when they finally came once more in sight 
of the buffalo, they were not more than half 
a mile away. 

It was Youngblood' s usual custom to crawl 
on his hands and knees through the grass 
until he was as near to a herd as he wished; 
but this time the ground was so cold and 
muddy that he did not feel like crawling, 
but just ran rapidly toward his intended 
game until they showed signs of alarm, and 
then he at once began shooting. He had to 
fire at very long range; but, after several 
shots, he managed to wound one of the ani- 
mals in the shoulder. The stricken beast 
was soon unable to keep up with the herd, 
and dropped behind. The hunter waited 
until the wagon came up, and then he set the 



pvWK'f;!? '-7:^' V^ ? "■■■ 



A SUDDEN EISE. 229 

dogs on the crippled buffalo. The latter 
made its way the best it could after the herd, 
with the dogs at its heels Worrying it, until 
it came to a rise in the ground, when the rest 
of the herd, seeing the fight, turned, and, 
dashing back, began to try to kill the dogs, 
who, although "laying at them" all the 
time, managed to keep out of the way. 

As the fight progressed, assailants and 
assailed gradually moved toward the place 
where Youngblood and his companions stood 
watching the sport. The New Yorkers, when 
they observed this approach, began to grow 
alarmed; but Youngblood assured them that 
there was no danger, and if they would 
come with him he would show them how 
to kill buffalo. Nothing could induce them, 
however, to move a step closer to the 
dreaded beasts; and, finding it was useless 
to waste further words upon them, the 
hunter advanced to within a hundred and 
fifty yards of the buffalo, and began firing 
u]3on them. The herd were entirely absorbed 
with the dogs, and at every shot one of them 



'^W-'W-^ 



230 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

dropped. Finally, there was but one left. 
The solitary animal suddenly became con- 
scious of his loneliness, and, in search of 
company, galloped off straight toward the 
ISTew Yorkers. They, j)oor fellows, thought 
sure that their last moment was come, and, 
with shrieks of alarm, began darting aim- 
lessly hither and thither. Perhaps this 
frightened the monarch of the prairies, for he 
stopped to see what sort of strange animals 
these were. His pause was fatal to him, for 
in another moment he dropped with a bullet, 
sent by Youngblood's trusty "old poison- 
slinger," through his heart. The New York- 
ers were immensely relieved when they saw 
their enemy fall, and probably believe to 
this day that Youngblood saved their lives, 
although there was really very little danger. 
It wanted now only an hour to sunset, and 
there were thirteen buffalo to dress before 
bed-time. Besides the New Yorkers, Young- 
blood had only one person with him, a man 
named Lee Howard — a good hand, fortu- 
nately, who had made several trips with our 




W^si(fl^i^JiW:'^>^W'Ti9wf^ 



A SUDDEN EISE. 231 

hero, and knew his business. The New 
Yorkers offered to help, and did the best 
they could; but they were rather a hindrance 
than a help, for they were bankers' clerks 
and unfledged lawyers, who had never seen a 
buffalo. With the exception of three, the 
carcasses lay within a radius of thirty feet; 
Youngblood built a fire in the center, and 
by midnight the meat was dressed and safely 
packed away. 

The party were too excited for sleep, so 
they talked the remainder of the night. The 
next morning, they saw a herd of about 
three hundred. Youngblood, the indefatiga- 
ble, pitched in and got eight. This made 
aU they could haul, and they started back to 
Lakin. When they reached the hotel, the 
landlord asked Youngblood why he had not 
brought some antelope. The latter replied 
that he was after buffalo and had not thought 
anything about antelope, but promised to 
go out the next day and see what he could 
do to satisfy the desires of mine host. 

True to his promise, in the morning he 



■"■■ 'T>^r3si??5p 



232 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

mounted Ms old Indian pony, and, finding a 
nice herd of the graceful creatures not far 
from the station, killed three of them. He 
had with him a rope about twenty feet long 
that he was in the habit of using to picket 
his horse, and with this he tied his pony to 
the neck of one of the antelope that he 
supposed was breathing its last, and pro- 
ceeded on foot after the herd. He started 
on their trail, overtook them, and killed six; 
but when he returned, his pony was nowhere 
to be seen, and the antelope hitching-post was 
also missing. Starting in search of them, he 
found, to his surprise and amusement, the 
antelope leading the horse by the picket 
rope. He soon gave the animal its coiup de 
grace, and, gathering up his spoils, he tied 
their heads together, two and two, and, 
throwing them across the horse, proceeded 
to the station driving his horse before him. 

The little cavalcade must have presented 
an odd appearance as it entered Lakin; but, 
be this as it may, our friend gave the good 
towns-people a fine supply of antelope, and 
received excellent pay for them as well. 



i^praf)^f^v^»(qii^w'ji>-!/'^,<T^yw»i »t;"^'c;t' ••^^ « /v^jT^f ■> <. fMs^- n -. >, m -"--tj- ^ f- »i*-y j»r'^ 



CHAPTER XIX; 

ALMOST STAKVED— EATING PEAIRIE-DOGS— 
A GREEN- hunter's RELIC— SQUEAMISH 

"tenderfeet." 
A hunter's life is not always one of good 
luck, with plenty of game and big results, 
both as to meat and prices. On one occasion 
Youngblood started out to shoot over a range 
where usually there was game in abundance; 
but when he arrived at his destination, he 
found that the lakes had dried up, and the 
game had been forced to go elsewhere in 
search of water. He drove about for three 
days without firing a shot; for two of these 
days he was compelled to go entirely with- 
out food, and the pangs of hunger soon 
became excruciating. At last he struck a 
dog town, and by that time he was so fam- 
ished that he could have chewed a pine 
board. He had never tasted a prairie-dog, 
and had not considered the animal as a viand 

(238) 



■ T?^. "i^Sr'i'K 



234 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

most worthy to tempt the appetite of an 
epicure; but this was n@ time to be dainty, 
so he turned his horses out, shot one of the 
little varmints, fried him nicely, and ate him. 
The food was so grateful to his empty 
stomach that he tried another, then another, 
and still another, until he had eaten six. It 
would be impossible for a man ordinarily to 
eat more than one; but our hunter was so 
hungry, and had absolutely nothing else in 
the way of food, that he easily got away with 
the half-dozen, and relished them, too. 

After dinner he hitched up, and, after driv- 
ing about forty miles, he fell in with a man 
named Edward Day, who had just killed a 
buffalo and had the humps with him. 
Youngblood told him that he was as hungry 
as a wolf, and wanted something to eat. Day 
was very hospitable, stopped, built a fire, 
and soon had an appetizing mess ready. 

Youngblood asked his new friend where 
the game had gone to, and he replied that he 
had seen a large herd only about five miles 
from where they were then resting. This 



f^^r':r^mw^:^^f:;^^;^fr-^'i7'\:'-:^-. iv^r'r'- -j^-v'^t •'■<? 



ALMOST STARVED. 235 

news, with tlie buffalo humps, considerably 
revived the jaded spirits of our hero, and he 
at once started for the place indicated, and 
killed six of the animals. 

The next morning three men with a wagon 
appeared at his improvised camp. They had 
been out to kill buffalo, but had had no suc- 
cess, and were returning with heavy hearts. 
After talking some time, they proposed to 
Youngblood to give him $5 if he would show 
them how to kill buffalo. The hunter had no 
objection to making money so easily, and pro- 
ceeded at once to give them the lesson. The 
buffalo were very thick in that locality, and 
there was no difficulty in finding all they 
wanted. But the man who had made the 
offer of $5 for the lesson was so much afraid 
of the shaggy brutes that he could scarcely 
be induced to go near enough to get his 
money's worth. Youngblood, however, by 
dint of ridicule and persuasion, got him as 
close as he could, and showed him which one 
to fire at, but his shot flew wide of the mark. 
His teacher saw that he had a hard task 



'■^fs^ws 



236 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

before liim, and tliat he must get him nearer, 
so he himself shot and crippled one animul, 
and then started his pupil after it. The 
wounded buffalo moved off slowly, and the 
embryo hunter fired some twenty shots at it 
without the slightest visible effect. Finally, 
Youngblood brought him up within fifty 
yards, but by this time the poor fellow was 
so nervous that he was shaking as if he had 
an ague fit, and could not have hit a barn- 
door at five paces. The buffalo, seeing that 
it was about to be overtaken, turned and 
showed fight, and Youngblood was obliged 
to shoot it himself. He then told his com- 
panion to finish it quickly before it was 
dead, and the man ran up, and, after sending 
a ball into the buffalo's ham, turned and 
handed his instructor the $5. He was pro- 
fuse in his thanks, and asked Youngblood to 
skin the head, declaring that he was going 
to have it stuffed, and when he was an old 
man he would exhibit it to his grandchildren 
as a relic of his exploits as a mighty hunter 
of the plains. 



j^!pjs^[^p)#^^jWT»n«ji^,T^:^'y»7«;'»jr---'i;/^«.«> < 



ALMOST STARVED. 237 

They then camjjed for the night, but when 
it came to building a fire with buffalo-chips, 
the strangers were too extremely nice to 
touch them, and Youngblood was obliged to 
gather all the fuel himself. It is no un- 
common thing to find men who, on their 
first visit to the plains, are too dainty even 
to eat anything which has been cooked with 
this kind of fuel, but they soon conquer their 
squeamishness, take things as they find them, 
and " do in Rome as the Romans do." 

About the only man that Youngblood ever 
knew to take kindly to buffalo-chips at the 
very first dash was an old friend of his — he 
sometimes rolls pills in Kansas — who had 
come out to take a look at the wild and 
wo^ly West, and while there he called on 
his old acquaintance. They went out together 
after antelope, and, stopping at the head of 
a small branch, found a pool of water at 
which, from the marks about it, it was evi- 
dent that antelope had been drinking. They 
concluded to stop there and wait for the 
game to return; so they unhitched the horse, 



238 A MIGHTY HUjSTTEE. 

and drew tlie buggy down into a draw where 
it would be out of sigM of tlie antelope, and 
then sat down to take a lunch. While they 
were eating, an antelope came in sight, within 
twenty i^aces of where they sat. Youngblood 
seized his gun, which happened to be within 
reach, and at the first shot brought down the 
animal. In a few moments two more came 
to the place where the dead one was lying, 
and he bagged both of them. He then told 
his friend to build a fire while he skinned 
the antelope, and they would have some 
fresh meat. 

"All right," was the answer; "where can 
I find some wood? " 

Youngblood pointed to a pile of "chips," 
and told him there was plenty of fuel. • 

To his surprise, and totally contrary to his 
expectations, the man jumped right into the 
midst of them, and, with no show of repug- 
nance, began to rake them up with his hands, 
and a few minutes after was contentedly 
gnawing away at a chunk of bread in one 
hand and a lump of meat in the other. 



«>«wTv«rTT^'^ '•'^ ■ ™ -^^^^ "k^^^ 



CHAPTER XX. 

SOUTH OF THE ARKANSAS RIVEE— TWO AT 

OlSTE SHOT — WOLVES. 

Not long after the circumstances mentioned 
in the last chapter, Youngblood, in company 
with a friend, went south of the Arkansas 
River until they came to the North Fork, a 
distance of about thirty miles, and then 
traveled up this stream for another thirty 
miles, when they went south again to the 
Point of Rock, on the South Fork of Cimar- 
ron Creek. Here they came upon a large 
herd of buffalo, which Youngblood sent his 
friend to tackle, while he remained with the 
team. The buffalo tore down into a hollow, 
and, when they were fired upon, dashed 
straight toward the place where the wagon 
was. The team was a very wild one, and 
apt to run away at the slightest provocation, 
so Youngblood did not want to shoot; but 
as the buffalo whirled by at very close range, 

(239) 



240 A MIGHTY HUJSTTEE. 

his hunting instincts got the better of him, 
and he caught up his gun and blazed away. 
In his haste he forgot to draw the ramrod, 
which he had inserted in the gun, wrapped 
in oil tow, to prevent its rusting, and he shot 
stick and all, stringing two of the buffalo 
through the loins. The explosion startled 
the horses so that they were about to become 
unmanageable, and he was forced to rest 
content with this single shot, and give his 
whole attention to the team. When his 
friend came up he was surprised to see two 
dead buffalo, as he had heard only one shot, 
and the explanation simply increased his 
amazement. 

They soon got the meat dressed and loaded, 
and began to retrace their way. After driv- 
ing fifteen miles, they camped near, a big 
spring for the night. About 9 o' clock they 
were startled from sleep by the howling 
of wolves, who, attracted by the smell of 
fresh meat, were prowling about the camp. 
There was a dog with them who bore no good- 
will to the beasts, and they finally came so 



IW7T."T>'3 ,"<''''.',»r»:ri'»"f 



SOUTH OF THE ARKAISTSAS EIVER. 241 

near that they and the dog kept up a con- 
tinual racket. The dog would rush out at 
the wolves and chase them a short distance, 
when they would turn and drive him back, 
and then the whole performance would be 
gone over again. This continued, with brief 
intervals, throughout the whole night, and 
most effectually prevented Youngblood and 
his partner from obtaining a wink of sleep. 
The wolves were nearly starved, and seemed 
determined at all hazards to obtain some- 
thing to eat. 

At one time during the night it was 
really exciting and decidedly unpleasant 
for the two men. The wolves had chased 
the dog right up to where they were lying, 
when one of them attacked him. For some 
moments they fought viciously around, and 
even upon, the recumbent hunters, who had 
pulled the buffalo-robes well over them to 
l^rotect them from injury, but who were any- 
thing but comfortable until the fight was 
over, and the dog had driven the wolf away. 
In the morning they rose, feeling much more 

16 



.■vj^';'!Kifl»J!Ki5:i 



242 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

wearied than when they laid down. The 
wolves were still all around them, and by 
this time had grown quite friendly with the 
dog, who was playing and frolicking with 
them. There was very little profit to be 
made by killing them, as wolf-skins brought 
little or nothing in the market; but a few 
well-directed shots scattered them, and 
allowed the two friends, worn and weary, to 
proceed to their destination. 



"71»!f;F;:?f^,''K!;'W"'< "' V. ■ 



CHAPTER XXI. 

AN EDITOR TRIES IT — PLENTY OF GAME — A 
BIG HAUL — TWO DOCTORS FROM CHICAGO 
— DUOK-SHOOTING^-CURLEW — THE BUSI- 
NESS OVERDONE. 

,Our hero's next hunting expedition was 
undertaken in company with an editor who 
was anxious to see something of the big 
game. The second night out they camped 
on Cai'ter Draw, on the banks of a large lake. 
They had just begun their preparations for 
breakfast, when they discovered that the 
antelope in large numbers were coming to 
the lake for water, and Youngblood told the 
editor that if he would get breakfast, he, on 
his side, would try to kill some of the 
animals. He was very successful, returning, 
after an hour' s hunt, with ten of them. After 
breakfast they gathered up the game, har- 
nessed up, and drove to Syracuse Station, 
about thirty miles distant, on the Atchison, 

C243) 



'■-?:« ''jTfjjs??*?" 



244 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. Here tliey 
shipped the antelope to Fisher, the hotel 
proprietor at Lakin. 

From Syracuse they went about forty 
miles north, to a point near White Woman 
Creek, where they ran upon a herd of 
bujffalo; but as it was sundown when they 
first saw them, Youngblood considered that 
it would be best to wait until morning before 
disturbing them. The herd was an enor- 
mous one, closely covering fully half a mile 
square, and the hunter and the editor retired 
to bed, full of joyous anticipations of the big 
load they would get in the morning; but, 
alack and alas! when the sun rose there was 
not a buffalo to be seen, high or low. The 
editor was loud in his expressions of disap- 
pointment; but the trail proved to be an easy 
one to follow, and, after fifteen miles travel, 
the herd was found lying down. Youngblood 
killed four of them, and the editor was satis- 
fied. 

They then drove to what is called the 
State Line Trail, and the hunter concluded 



IWfWSJj^'jiyjWy^ 



;*«»-v';i^'Wti,Yf7V?j;T;^'?'VTr^'fip<l 



AN EDITOR TRIES IT. 245 

to finish his load with antelope. When he 
had killed seven, a man with a team came 
along, and he hired him to take his load in to 
Sargeant Station, and thence ship it to Lakin. 
With both wagon and hearts lightened, the 
partners traveled east a few miles, and halted 
on a small lake, a watering-place for both 
antelope and buffalo. During the night 
several of the former came down to the 
shore, and the editor shot one of them— his 
first, and, in all probability, his last, ante- 
lope. About 10 o'clock, the horses, which 
were picketed a short distance away, began 
to snort and exhibit evident signs of fright. 
Youngblood was on his feet in the twinkling 
of an eye, certain that the Indians were upon 
them; but soon saw, to his relief, that the 
cause of the horses' agitation was a herd of 
buffalo, only about fifty yards away, which 
had come down for water. Several of them 
were within a few feet of the camp, and 
they surrounded the wagon and so terrified 
one of the horses that he broke loose. It 
would have been an easy matter to have 



«tV?fc^>^7-3^'^■f,»<T-^:.?^^r;^<^fl'^'■•?;w>',^^^^^ 



246 A MIGHTY HUNTBE. 

killed several of them, but Youngblood did 
not dare to shoot for fear of frightening the 
horse still more and making him leave 
entirely; so all he could do was to stand and 
gaze at them until they had passed and he 
could secure the horse again. His patience 
was rewarded, however; for a few minutes 
after he had the horse safely picketed, a 
single buffalo came down to drink, and he 
picked him off without the slightest diffi- 
culty. The two men then put on their clothes, 
dressed the buffalo, and sat round the camp- 
fire for the rest of the night. In the morn- 
ing they drove five miles, and got six more 
buffalo, which finished the load. When 
these were dressed it was late in the after- 
noon, but as there was a moon that night, 
Youngblood proposed to his partner to drive 
into the station without further delay. 
Shortly after they started, however, the 
sky clouded over and it grew very dark, so 
that Youngblood lost his bearings, and de- 
cided that it would be safer to proceed no 
further. 



^x^rn^fM^'j^srifim^'^^itt^- -i.^.Tir:»'.'!i 



AN EDITOR TRIES IT. 247 

When they went to picket their horses, 
however, they found, to their dismay, that 
they had left their picket-pins behind them 
in the ]place where they had camped the night 
before. There was only one thing to be done, 
and the two weary men were compelled to 
take turns in holding the horses until day- 
light showed them their whereabouts. Then 
they drove in to Aubery Station, sold what 
they could, and returned to Lakin. The pro- 
ceeds of this hunt were seventeen antelope 
and eleven buffalo — not a bad showing, tak- 
ing all the circumstances into consideration. 
The editor was highly delighted with his 
share in the exi)edition, and published an 
account of the trip in his paper. 

At Lakin Youngblood found two sports- 
men from Connecticut awaiting his return. 
They wanted to engage him simply as guide, 
as they desired to do all the shooting them- 
selves. They possessed an armory of six 
guns — two breech-loading shotguns, two 
breech-loading rifles, and two eighteen-inch 
rifles. They agreed to pay the guide $3 a day 



'•'^■•^'^VW 



248 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

from start to finish; and as soon as Young- 
blood was sufficiently rested, the party set 
forth and went about twenty miles south of 
the Arkansas River. 

The particular pet of these sportsmen 
seemed to be the shotgun, and they wanted 
to go where there was an abundance of fowl 
to be had. It was something novel to the 
hunter of big game to see men who wished 
to go after ducks and snipes when there was 
plenty of buffalo and antelope to be had; but 
it was no affair of his — they were paying 
him; fowls they wanted, and fowls he found 
for them. 

He conducted them, therefore, to a large 
lake which was literally alive with ducks 
and curlew. The curlew is about the size of 
the guinea-hen, and is most excellent eating, 
the flesh being delicate and finely flavored. 
There was also a kind of snipe about the size 
of a quail, and by no means to be despised 
by the epicure. With the innumerable 
quantities of duck, snipe, and curlew, the 
Connecticut men had the very finest sort of 



IP^^j^w^'srri^-^Tr^'^-^ ' '■''^ 



AN EDITOR TEIES IT. 249 

sport of that jDarticular kind that their souls 
delighted in. They seemed specially inter- 
ested in the curlew, and regarded them as a 
great curiosity, with their long, slender legs, 
adapted for wading, and their curved beaks, 
about seven inches in length. These men 
were capital shots at small game. They 
would not shoot at a bird except Avhen on 
the wing, and they never fired on a bunch of 
birds, but would make them fly uj) in the 
air, and then, selecting one, bring it down. 

They kept u}3 their sport for several days, 
until one of them, in firing at a duck on the 
wing, happened to shoot his comrade, who 
got within his range. Fortunately, the shot 
they were using was small bird-shot, so 
it did not seriously injure the man; but the 
accident put an end to the hunting, and sent 
the party back to Lakin. 

Here Youngblood again found i3eople wait- 
ing for him to i^ilot them out on a hunt. 
This time it was two doctors from Chicago, 
and as there was no bickering about terms, 
and our hunter felt fresh and entirely "fit," 



'»^*iwp5j|| 



250 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

they started the next day. After traveling 
about twenty miles, they came to a lake 
where they stopped for the night. Here there 
were plenty of antelope, and they killed 
seven. 

The doctors were provided with shotguns, 
and they kept blazing away at everything 
they saw. The wolves were decidedly obstrep- 
erous, and must have been very hungry, for 
they came prowling and howling very close 
to the camp, and the doctors killed several 
with their guns during the night. 

They were well pleased with their sport; 
but, unlike the Connecticut men, they 
longed for the biggest of all game — a longing 
not uncharacteristic of the average Chicago 
man. So, in com^Dliance ^vith their desires, 
Youngblood harnessed up, the next morning, 
and they started out in search of buffalo. 
But, unfortunately, just at this time it 
seemed as if the whole world had gone 
mad on the subject of buffalo and antelope 
shooting. Some days one could see as many 
as fifty wagons going in all directions for 



?'5*'?'*«1f^'*3'TT^''r^ '^ 



AN EDITOR TEIES IT. 251 

meat; but by far the greater part of the 
would-be hunters would not have had the 
slightest idea what to do if they had hap- 
pened, through good or evil fortune, to stum- 
ble upon a herd. 

The fellows were around armed with any- 
thing they could lay their hands on~knives, 
pistols, axes, shotguns, etc. They would 
ask Youngblood in the most naive way if 
the buffalo would ever fight, and some of 
them seemed to imagine that they had noth- 
ing in the world to do except to amble 
calmly up to the side of one and put an end 
to its existence with pistol or knife, at their 
leisure. If they found a herd they would 
rush on, helter-skelter, as if they expected the 
animals to stand still to be caught by their 
tails and have their throats cut. 

In fact, the crazy rush and racket of these 
greenhorns frightened the buffalo and ante- 
lope quite out of that portion of the country, 
and caused them to seek a refuge from the 
din and noise further west, whence they did 
not return for over six months, frightened 
out of their senses as they were. 



252 A MIGHTY HUITTEK. 

Most of these raw hunters were men who 
had been gulled by land agents into coming 
West, the hoi)e held out to them being cheap 
lands, a hope destined never to be realized. 

At all events, they had effectually driven 
away the buffalo, and Youngblood had to 
take his Chicago doctors back with their 
longings for big game unrealized. 



?r»*T*Tlv^fy*>'VWr^''SWv"' vvsf'vrjw '"!'^^vf^ 



CHAPTER XXII. 

KANSAS AS A HUNTING GHOUND — PEAIEIE 
ON PIKE — BUFFALO STAMPEDE — SNOW- 
BOUND AND NEAELT STAEVED— HUNTING 
AND BEEAKING-IN WILD HOESES — A FAIE 
EXCHANGE. 

We shall devote this chapter to three 
hunts which our hero was concerned in in 
the seventies, and which possess certain 
points of interest; but before relating them 
it may be well to give here a brief descrij^tion 
of Western Kansas in general, and its rivers 
and river valleys in particular. 

Beginning at the northwest corner of the 
State and coming south, the first stream is 
the Republican River, which has its source 
in Colorado, near the foot of the mountains, 
is fed by springs, and when it runs into Kan- 
sas is about 180 feet wide. The Republican 
River has several southern tributaries, many 
of which are broad streams and skirted with 
some timber, though not enough to make 

(253) 



»^' •rp';' .Slflv'S'^^.,'; T^^.'Ml 



254 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

them good places for tlie location of saw- 
mills. The next river of note, as you go 
south, is the Solomon River, which in the 
extreme western portion of the State is shal- 
low and narrow; but, further on, it receives 
the waters of many large springs, and 
becomes quite a stream. In places there is 
considerable timber upon its banks, and all 
through this valley there are many capital 
sites for a ranch. South of Solomon River 
is Goose Creek, fed by springs, and with 
some timber; in many places there is good 
meadow land. The next stream south is 
South Smoky River, broad and deep, with 
more or less wooded banks, making an 
excellent place for ranches; but most of the 
land is already taken up. 

South of the Arkansas River, the country 
is well wooded and watered, and there are 
many valleys suitable for ranchers to settle 
in. All the valley of the Arkansas River, 
with its abundant streams and good grazing, 
is the best buffalo region on the face of the 
globe. 



7^sfw- ^'l^^^^■^^.^>^(^■'^?^ry*^^^ 



KANSAS AS A HUNTING GROUND. 255 

Although Youngblood's buffalo-hunting 
has by no means been confined exclusively 
to Kansas, as he has frequently gone into 
Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Indian 
Territory, and Texas, there is hardly a square 
mile of Western Kansas and its contiguous 
territory that he has not explored. There is 
not a creek that he can not describe; not a 
bit of timber that he has not seen, nor a 
range of hills with which he is not familiar; 
in fact, he is probably more intimately 
acquainted with tha,t country than any other 
living man. 

But as to the hunts that we spoke of at 
the beginning of the chapter. The first one 
was undertaken with a man named Edward 
Riley, and the point of departure was Wal- 
lace Station, on the Kansas Pacific Railroad. 
On the second day out a large herd was 
found; they were coming directly toward 
the hunters, and, as the prairie was on fire, 
they were in a general stampede. Young- 
blood left Riley with the team, and killed 
five in a very short space of time; but it was 



"^^^^Wfp? 



256 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

not long before the fire was right upon them, 
at which Riley became so frightened that he 
utterly lost his head, and while Young- 
blood's attention was directed toward some- 
thing else, he turned the team and drove off 
at a gallop, thinking only of making his own 
escape, and leaving his companion alone to 
manage the best way he could.. After he 
had gone a short distance, however, he 
recovered his senses, and turned to come 
back; but by this time the smoke was so 
dense that he could see nothing of Young- 
blood. The latter went on, meanwhile, and 
dressed the buffalo he had killed. There 
was really ho danger from the fire where he 
was, as they had taken the precaution to 
clear a large space. After his work was done 
he waited patiently until dark; but his run- 
away partner not appearing, he began to 
cast about to see how he was going to keep 
from freezing. The weather was growing 
very cold, and he was in his shirt-sleeves, 
for he had, unluckily, left his coat in the 
wagon when he started after the buffalo, 



»(^'!|flfBISif^_9»J«^T'^-'J^Jr«>t7B!»'«««i»^ 



KANSAS AS A HUNTING GROUND. 257 

and, of course, Riley had driven off with it. 
What to do our shivering hunter scarcely 
knew; but he finally took the hides of two 
of the buffalo he had killed and rolled him- 
self up in them as tight as he could. It 
was not long before the hides froze and 
became as solid as a plaster mold. There 
was plenty of warmth in this covering, but 
the enclosed figure could not move an inch. 
He made the best of it, however, and lay thus 
enwrapped until morning, when, by dint of 
hard squeezing and struggling, he managed 
to crawl out of his narrow cell. His first 
thought was to find out what had become of 
his partner, and he mounted a high hill 
where a good view could be obtained in all 
directions; but no trace of Riley was to be 
seen. Late in the evening, however, the 
truant hove in sight, and, in spite of all, 
Youngblood was glad enough to see him; 
for, as he had no matches to start a fire to 
cook anything, he had not had an atom to 
eat since they parted, twenty-four hours 
before. After the pangs of hunger were sat- 

17 



258 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

isfied, they loaded up their meat and started 
for Groose Creek; but in a very short time the 
skies grew dark and lowering, and there 
were even indications of a snow-storm. 
They did not go far, therefore, but drew up 
their wagon and camped in a draw. In the 
morning they had to dig themselves out, for 
the snow had drifted round their tent to a 
height of four feet, although it was not 
more than six inches deep on a level. They 
tried to proceed on their journey, but it was 
still snowing, and so cold and disagreeable 
that they had to stop again, and in a very 
short time found themselves snow-bound. 
When it at last cleared off, and they began 
to make preparations to move out, they 
found their wagon so badly snowed in that 
it was a long and difficult task to shovel it 
out. After a hard tug, they finally reached 
Wallace, just two weeks from the time they 
started. 

When they drove into the station, the 
people came running excitedly in all direc- 
tions to ask if they had seen or heard any- 






KANSAS AS A HUNTING GEOUND. 259 

thing of the Indians. It seems that there had 
been a big fight in the vicinity of the station 
— a fight in which twenty-eight Indians had 
been killed — and the inhabitants had given 
Youngblood and his companion tip for lost, 
although they, in their blissful ignorance, 
had never dreamed of danger from the red- 
skins. 

Shortly after this buffalo hunt, Young- 
blood was engaged in a wild-horse chase. 
Three of them started out to take three 
herds— one apiece— and with them were four 
hands to help. On the second day our 
hero killed a load of buffalo, and dispatched 
a man to Lakin with it. They then kept on 
until they found the wild horses, when they 
camped and prepared for business. 

Youngblood selected for his a herd of 
twenty-six— twenty-five bays and a roan- 
while the other two took, one a herd of 
twenty- two, and the other a herd of twenty- 
four. They were all three on their mettle, 
and each determined to outstrip his compan- 
ions. The herds started in the same general 



260 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

direction, going northwest into Colorado, 
about 100 miles from the place they were 
first discovered. They first passed through 
a very dry country, but finally came to a 
belt of land where the rains had been plenti- 
ful, and the grass was good. The horses 
wanted to stay here, and began circling about. 
After fifteen days hard driving, the three 
men finally reached Lakin with fifty-six head. 
Here had been prepared a corral, made of 
railroad ties set about eighteen inches in the 
ground, and with two wings built in the 
same way. It was with no little difliculty 
that all the horses were driven into the cor- 
ral, and, even when this was successfully 
accomplished, there was a still harder Job on 
hand; for all the captives had to be broken. 
The method used was this: An experienced 
cowboy throws a lasso over the head of one 
of the horses and chokes him down, when he 
is bridled and held prostrate by long roj)es 
until he is conquered and consents to be led 
about. It is important that this breaking-in 
process be undertaken as soon as the horses 



ipplifllppppippllil^ 



KANSAS AS A IIUNTIISTG GEOUND. 261 

are penned, and before they have time to 
rest; and they must be handled every day 
afterward until they become perfectly tame 
and docile. 

The third hunt that Youngblood made 
about this time was after buffalo. He started 
out from Aubrey, and proceeded north of 
the Arkansas Kiver. When he had driven 
about forty miles he came to a small lake 
where there were evident signs of a recent 
visit from some of the desired game. 

Youngblood soon found the direction in 
which their trail led, and followed it up. 
When he had gone about five miles he dis- 
covered a herd, and, leaving his two men with 
the wagons, he crept up as close as he could; 
but, in spite of his best efforts, he succeeded 
in wounding only one before they dashed 
over a hill and were out of sight. He noticed, 
however, that the herd was bearing round 
the hill, and he ran across to intercept them 
if possible. Suddenly, as he was running 
along at full speed, he heard something 
behind, and, turning, saw a buffalo-calf gal- 



263 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

loping after him. It liad probably been 
asleep when tlie rest of the herd had been 
started. It was a small one, and as the hunter 
stopped it came straight up to him, only to be 
seized and held until the men and teams came 
up, when it was tied and put into a wagon. 
Youngblood then continued his way round 
the hill, and when he got to the other side 
he found that the buffalo he had wounded 
had dropped down in the road; but, to his 
unbounded surprise, one of its hams had 
entirely disappeared. This, however, was 
soon explained, for on looking up the road 
he saw a wagon with three men in it driving 
rapidly away. The thieves paid dearly for 
their knavery, however, for lying near the 
buffalo was a fine field-glass which they had 
dropped in their haste, and which Young- 
blood appropriated, considering himself well 
paid for his ham. The next morning, having 
camped only a mile away, he saw two of the 
fellows riding back and forth, in all proba- 
bility searching for the glass, which they 
never found. 



I 



fll^^^mmw^^^^fffl^m^W^ 



KANSAS AS A HUNTING @EOUND. 263 

That day our hunter drove a few miles and 
found five buffalo, but only got one when 
It began to rain, and he was obliged to 
return to the station. The calf died on the 
journey. Despite his rather poor luck with 
buffalo, Youngblood managed to kill enough 
antelope to make out a load, and to feel weU 
repaid for his time. 



I^f!!lff?w"*wfw3^f 



SP*'-*7''T'"*' 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

WISE MEN OF THE EAST — AN AFTHOEITY ON 
WOODCHUCK — BOUND TO EAT IT, MUD- 
HEN OR NOT — THE TALE OF A TAIL. 

During the summer of 1877, Youngblood 
did but little hunting, as jpelts and skins are 
of small value during warm weather, and he 
did not care to kill the goose which had 
thus far supplied him with golden — or rather 
paper — dollars. 

However, he kept his eye in training and 
his trigger-finger limbered up by piloting a 
great many parties, tenderf ooted and other- 
wise, out on the prairies, and he did not realize 
until then the close resemblance that existed 
between a coyote and a jack-rabbit; at least, 
those two quadrupeds ajDpeared to look so 
much alike in the eyes of the wise men of 
the East that one really couldn't tell what 
these Nimrods had brought down until the 
last man of their party had given his opinion 

(265) 



266 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

and backed it up by coi^ious references to 
Buff on and a few illustrated posters supplied 
by tliat great educator of the youth of this 
country— Mr. P. T. Barnum. 

Among those for whom our hero acted in 
this capacity was a party of surveyors who 
were laying out a route for a branch of the 
Rock Island Railroad, and who wished him 
to accompany them for the double purpose 
of keeping the wolf from the door and sup- 
plying them with fresh meat. It was rather 
fortunate that he was with the party, for the 
young man in charge of the commissary 
department apparently did not know the 
difference between a sage-hen and a prairie- 
chicken, or at least thought that, in the 
absence of the latter, the former would fill 
in a satisfactory manner the empty pot that 
usually hung on their camp-fire, and that 
empty void which nature particularly ab- 
hors. To one who has attempted to eat sage- 
hens, it will be unnecessary to say that one 
application is enough, and that the game 
Youngblood was able to furnish made a 



^mllli^m'V^^ 



WISE MEN OF THE EAST. 267 

most desirable change, as even customers of 
Delmonico's will admit that brook- trout, 
prairie -cMcken, teal-duck, antelope, and now 
and then a tender bear-steak, are rather better 
than the young surveyor's sage-hen and 
Chicago sour-bellies. 

As soon as the weather grew cooler, Young- 
blood returned to headquarters, and in the 
month of October, while preparing to make 
a real hunt, was prevailed upon by an old 
friend of his, named Bennett, to take him 
and a Mr. Weeks, of Iowa, for a little tour. 

Hank Bennett had seen our hero come in 
from many a hunt, and was wild to get a 
crack at some game himself; while Weeks 
had probably never seen anything wild 
larger than an Iowa gopher, or perhaps a 
woodchuck of the crop of 1840. Young- 
blood was quite willing to give them a good 
time; so he loaded up his prairie-schooner, 
and they started, the objective point being a 
stream about twenty-five miles distant. 

Here they camped, and while Hank was 
getting things in shape for supper, Young- 



268 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

blood tried a new Winchester on a few jack- 
rabbits; but as tliey had jplenty of meat with 
them, he did not bother to get them, 
although he wished afterward that he had 
not left them lying round. 

After they had eaten, smoked their pipes, 
and swapped the customary number of 
stories over the camp-fire, they turned in 
with the expectation of a good sleep and an 
early start; but were fooled, as far as sleep 
was concerned, for the Jack-rabbits Young- 
blood had killed brought the coyotes and 
wolves around in hundreds, and their snarl- 
ing and fighting kept up so that rest was out 
of the question. 

The brutes finally settled around a couple 
of the rabbits, and were holding a regular 
town-meeting; so Youngblood, in despair, got 
up, and, taking a piece of burning wood from 
the fire, gave them a lively chase, which put 
an end to their yelling for the night. 

The party got a good start in the morning, 
and pushed on for a pool about twenty miles 
distant, where Youngblood iDrojposed to make 



wJWSiPPB'i'lS?^ 



WISE MEN OF THE EAST. 269 

their permanent camp. Prairie-dogs were 
thicker than vermin on a Sioux's back, and 
Weeks said that he had never seen so many- 
young woodchucks before, so took advantage 
of the opportunity and caught two, declaring 
he wanted to bring them up as pets. It is to 
be hoped that they have grown to the size of 
the regulation Iowa woodchuck by this time; 
Weeks said they would, and he appeared to 
be an authority on woodchucks. 

About 4 o' clock in the afternoon the pool 
was reached, and while Youngblood and 
Weeks were unhitching, Hank Bennett 
started off on a tour of observation. In about 
ten minutes he came running back, with his 
long, yellow hair flying, and his thin legs 
going too fast to cast a shadow, Avith the 
information that a little further ui^ the pool 
was filled with ducks, and that he wanted to 
have a show at them. 

He was very much excited, and Young- 
blood said " Go ahead!" so he made a break 
for the wagon to get his gun, but was so torn 
up with the thought of ducks that he carried 



270 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

one of the "medicine" jugs about five rods 
from the schooner before Youngblood in- 
formed him that it contained bait for fish- 
ing, and could not be used to good advantage 
on duck. He seemed surprised, and said he 
thought "everything went" while hunting, 
but finally got out his gun, and Weeks went 
with him to bring in the dead. 

Youngblood heard a good many shots 
shortly after, and in about half an hour 
back came the boys with the game. Hank 
had five birds, and it was hard to tell who 
felt the prouder, Bennett for killing them, 
or Weeks for being in such good company. 

When they got within speaking distance, 
Hank held up the game and called out : 

' ' Ain' t they dandies ? " 

' ' What ? ' ' asked Youngblood. 

"Why, these teal, of course." 

Youngblood could scarcely repress his 
laughter. ' ' Teal ! " he chuckled. ' ' Why, 
you hayseed, those are mud-hens, and a 
starved coyote would twist up his tail in 
pain if he was asked to eat them." 



!jip*^|r?'f'S!^i'Ts»^^ 



WISE MEN OF THE EAST. 271 

Poor Hank felt very sore over this, but 
admitted that his friend was right, after he 
had tried to eat one of the hens which he 
roasted for his supper. The same old hen, 
with Bennett's tooth-marks in it, is prob- 
ably there yet, for there never yet was found 
anybody or anything that could eat one. 

The next morning, while Youngblood was 
smoking his pipe and taking things easy, 
Bennett came rushing up and told him that 
tliere was an antelope a little way from 
camp, and wanted him to go and get it. It 
is needless to say the hunter was willing, 
and, getting his rifle, he started, with Hank 
and Weeks trailing after, they wishing to 
see the operation from start to finish. 

The game was a single buck, and was 
feeding quietly in an open spot, so that it 
was necessary to use great caution in getting 
within range. This was rather a difficult 
matter for Youngblood to accomplish, with 
the boys tramping on his trail; but, after a 
good deal of crawling and skirmishing, he 
got the drop on Mr. Buck, who threw up his 



-'■.;^,^5,((JJI|H^PJP|PJ 



272 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

hands, or rather his tail, and passed in his 
checks, much to the delight of Weeks and 
Bennett, who then voted the "hunt" a big 
success, and were ready to go home, think- 
ing that the combination had done wonders. 

This proposition was agreeable to Young- 
blood, so they headed for Coolidge, and, 
after traveling eight or ten miles, antelope 
were discovered some distance to the left. 
Leaving Weeks and Bennett with the team, 
which by that time had been backed into a 
hollow out of sight, Youngblood started for 
the game, going around them for the pur- 
pose of driving them toward the wagon 
when they should break away after his fire. 
They were grazing toward the spot where he 
had left his outfit, and when within seventy- 
five or one hundred yards of it, he fired, 
bringing down a fine buck and wounding 
another. The latter made straight for the 
wagon, but it was evident from his jumps 
that he was badly hurt. 

Of course, Youngblood started after him 
at a lively gait, and was just going to pump 



||Pi5^KTr<^,r^T.: .--.T ; 



WISE MEN OF THE EAST. 273 

another dose of lead into him, when who 
should jump from a hole close to him but 
Hank, who made a dash at the antelope, and 
in some way got hold of his stump of a tail, 
and held on like grim death to a dead nig- 
ger. The buck -kept going, however, almost 
jerking Hank's teeth out at every spring, 
and making his legs look like wagon-spokes 
going at a "forty" pace; but the harder he 
jumped, the madder got Bennett, and the 
stronger got his hold. 

"Go it!" yeUed Hank. "Go it, you 
darned old white-bellied goat! I'm from 
Posey County, Indiana, and you can't 
shake me ! " 

But the louder Bennett yelled, the more 
scared the buck got, and put in his best licks 
for freedom, clearing from ten to fifteen feet 
at a jump. 

Hank began to think he had bitten off a 
bigger cud than he could chew, and began 
to scream : 

"Charley! Weeks! Here, you; some- 
body head us darned fools off ! " 

18 



274 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

But suddenly, while the other two were 
paralyzed with laughter, the buck stepped 
into a dog-hole and fell, and Hank made a 
jump for his head, and sat on it until Young- 
blood ran up and cut his throat. 

Bennett was very proud of his achieve- 
ment, and wanted to start right then for 
Coolidge and tell his wife all about the trip; 
but night was coming on, and, as they were 
fifteen or twenty miles from town, his com- 
panions prevailed ujpon him to give up the 
idea of walking in, that night ; so, after sup- 
per, they all turned in, got a good sleep, and 
started early the next morning for Coolidge. 

During the ride in, Youngblood added five 
antelope to the lot, while Weeks and Ben- 
nett knocked out several jack-rabbits and 
ducks; which ended what was, for a short 
trip, one of the pleasantest picnics our hero 
ever attended, and equally enjoyed by all. 



mTjt:t^''irr^^r^-< 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

' ' NO man' S land " — " CHEYENNE JIM ' ' — THE 
AC]e OF SPADES — ^YOUNGBLOOD WTSUS 
WOLVES. 

In the latter part of October, Youngblood 
and one of his sons made elaborate prepara- 
tions for an extended hunt, and on about 
the 20th of the month started, with 
two teams, for "!N"o Man's Land," where 
they expected to find buffalo, antelope, etc., 
in abundance. Their route took them 
through Minneapolis County, and at every 
stopping-place they were objects of much 
interest to the inhabitants of the towns, who 
gathered round the wagons with that intense 
interest which anything out of the common 
run excites in the minds of people who have 
more time to devote to other persons' affairs 
than they can possibly spare for their own. 
The settlers were much astonished at the 
large quantity of ammunition carried, and 

(275) 



i|k_ 



:»?*-2,™-"V'^>"' 



276 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

seemed to think that immediate efforts were 
to be made to exterminate all the red-skins 
west of the Rockies. Some of the more in- 
qnisitive began to handle the poison, and to 
speculate as to what use it was to be put to, 
and were greatly delighted when a smart 
Aleck informed them that tliey were hired by 
the Government to settle the vexed question 
of Mr. "Lo" in this manner, they believ- 
ing, with gallant Phil. Sheridan, that the 
only truly good Indian is a dead one. After 
this shrewd guess had been made, and good 
luck wished them, together with the assur- 
ance that the hunters "knew their busi- 
ness," they pushed on to the southern line 
of the State of Colorado, where their busi- 
ness again demanded the attention of the 
guessers, and caused plenty of money to 
go over the bar at the "Little Heaven" 
saloon. 

Cimarron River was soon reached, where 
the party was delayed a day or two by a 
threatened storm, which fortunately did not 
materialize; but, as game was very scarce in 



P^T^T*' J!^.-r^x.s.-7'!^^'y.^'-'^ 



"no man's land." 277 

that section, another jump of fifty miles was 
made, to where there was a good outlook for 
what the expedition was after. Enough 
antelope, rabbits, etc., were killed to keep 
the larder well filled with fresh meat, and 
while finishing a dinner from this bill of fare, 
one day, a party of typical cowboys came 
dashing up on their ratty-looking cayuses, 
and, after giving the "customary yells, and 
shots from their "44s," the "boss" said: 
" Youngblood, have you got any fresh meat? 
We ain't proud; the last stuff of that kind 
I eat was the left ear of a Government mule; 
so if you can take that taste out of my 
mouth, I'll give you the first two-headed 
bull-calf that my bronco drops." 

Of course, in that part of the country 
everything is fun, and a man is expected 
to take anything he wants, except horses— 
those the line is drawn at. But when a fel- 
low has certain reasons for wishing for 
another man's life, he may have it, if he can 
get the drop first, and no questions are asked. 
The "boss" of this particular gang was 



'''^i'n'ri:<?'r^'t:.-\f-^'','r^^!rf!S'^~^ 



278 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

" Cheyenne Jim," who had the reputation of 
being a pretty good man at any kind of gun 
game; so, after the "punchers" had filled 
u]3 on antelope and such truck, they began 
fooling with their "44s," and did some shoot- 
ing that would make Doctor Carver's hair 
curl tighter than the eastern barbers are 
able to make it. 

Jim had downed his gang in shooting at a 
mark, and began to banter Youngblood 
(who had up to that time taken no part in 
the fun) to shoot against him. The latter 
held off for some time; but Jim was ^o dead- 
set to have a "go" that he even offered to 
bet his new "slickers" against Young- 
blood's hat that he could beat him. Now, 
the "slickers" were new, and would just 
about fit Youngblood, so it didn't take long- 
to get him warmed up. The rest of the cow- 
propellers gathered round, and yelled like 
wild men when Jim drove a hole through the 
spot in the ace of spades which was stuck up 
on a tree about fifty yards distant, and hit 
the card with his two remaining shots. 



B«P!l!!|i;yj*.H»l(««W 



"no man's land." 279 

Youngblood didn't say mucli, but put up 
another ace on the same tree, and fired three 
times in as many seconds. When he drop- 
ped his revolver, the pip was out of the ace, 
but no marks of the two other bullets, and 
the cowboys raised a great noise, feeling cer- 
tain that Jim had won. 

"Hold on," says Youngblood; "those are 
pretty good 'schaps' you're wearing, Jim, 
and I'll bet you my gun against them that I 
beat you." 

Jim couldn't take the bet too quick, and 
the gang went to the tree to decide the wager. 
Sure enough, the center-spot was gone from 
Jim's card, which also showed two other 
holes within two inches of the first one. In 
Youngblood' s card there was only one mark, 
right in the exact center; but without chang- 
ing a muscle of his face, he pulled out his 
knife and showed Mr. Cheyenne Jim 
that all three of his buUets had gone in the 
single hole! 

There was nothing for Jim to do but shed 
his "slickers" and "schaps," and admit 



■•■'I!^*.':-'^^ ■,"■■.■.*:;.-,,. ^.- ..... ,^.. .^, „^r.,.^i.j^|^,y^|j^ 



280 A MIGHTY HUJSTTER. 

defeat, wliich lie did gracefully, and, with a 
sorrowful and sickly smile on his face, 
" cinched" up, and, with his gang, rode off, 
taking with him a pot of bear's grease pre- 
sented by Youngblood, who knew that in 
the absence of "slickers" he would have to 
apply it next morning, or do his eating stand- 
ing up. 

By the time this monkey-business was 
over, it was too late to think of doing any 
work; so after supper the hunters turned in, 
to wake the next morning and find two of 
the horses missing. 

Now, to be a couple of hundred miles or 
so away from home, without horses, and with 
Indians liable to turn up at any minute, is 
not a pleasant sensation; so the first thing to 
do was to get the live stock. 

At first the thought was that the cowboys 
had taken them as a practical Joke; but 
Youngblood soon found their trail, which 
was very fresh, so concluded they had 
strayed off only, and sent his son to round 
them up, while he looked after the balance 
of the outfit. 



"]sro man's land." 281 

The younger man had not been gone long 
when Youngblood caught sight of two ante- 
loiDe about 1,000 yards off, and, getting his 
gun, started for them. The only thing that 
could hide him from their sight was a patch 
of sage-brush here and there, and, after a 
good deal of crawling, he finally got within 
500 yards, and let go; the buck dropped dead 
in his tracks, and as the doe started for the 
timber, another shot made her change her 
mind, and she went to join her mate. 

In about half an hour the horses were 
driven back to the wagons and hitched up to 
get the two dead antelope. When they were 
reached, Youngblood was surprised to find 
them already half eaten, and' to see three 
gray wolves, about as big as a good-sized 
Newfoundland dog, sneaking off into the 
timber, and licking their chops as though 
they enjoyed the joke they had played on him. 

This was a little too much for an old 
hunter to stand; so, after staying in the 
neighborhood for a few days, and getting 
about twenty more head of antelope (about 



283 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

all that remained of the herd), Youngblood 
started his son for Boston, Col., while he 
remained to have Ms fun with the wolves. 
Making a fresh-meat drag of a couple of the 
dead antelope, he hauled them in a circle of 
about two miles, to give a strong scent, and 
then returned to within fifty yards of his 
starting-point. 

By this time the sun was only about half 
an hour high, and the gray boys were begin- 
ning to gather at the scent, so the poison- 
boxes were brought into use, and a toothsome 
repast prepared for the expected dear ones. 
Youngblood didn't care to trouble himself 
to act as host, knowing that his guests did 
not stand upon the ceremony of host, so he 
turned in to await the result of his feast. 

In the morning he counted thirty-six here- 
tofore able-bodied wolves who had become 
tired of life, and taking their clothes — they 
having no further use for them — he left their 
bodies to the tender mercies of their brethren, 
who, with that generosity peculiar to their 
race, cleaned them up in short order. 



f!||5«5B'!PW!w?'?w1SP?w^ 



"no man's land." 283 

Pulling up stakes, our hero started for 
Boston to pick up his son, getting on the 
way in the neighborhood of fifty antelope, 
and then passed through Minneapolis, Col., 
and Border City, Kan., toward Coolidge, 
where he intended to dispose of the skins 
and pelts taken. 

When a day or two out from the latter 
point, he gathered in twelve antelope, which 
were taken into town and sold to Messrs. 
Hawkins & Crittenden, butchers, who were 
mighty glad to get them. 

On the whole, the trip was a good one, as 
it ended profitably, and without the hard- 
ships and dangers which attended other 
expeditions made by Youngblood, both 
before and after. 



l^y^iJTTF^TW !f;v-i^^^y^r 



CHAPTER XXy. 

TERRIBLE WEATHER — PRAIRIE HOSPITALITY 
— A GAME OF BLUFF — YOUNGBLOOD TO 
THE FORE. 

After spending a few days to give their 
stock a little rest and lay in the necessary 
supplies for another trip, Youngblood and 
his son again started out "on business;" 
but came nearer reaching the "happy hunt- 
ing-ground" of Indian tradition than (for 
them) the more satisfactory stamping-place 
of the buffalo and the antelope. The first 
night out, one of their horses was taken 
sick in some mysterious manner, and died, 
leaving them, at the outset of their journey, 
in a position much like a rudderless ship in 
mid ocean. 

The sudden taking off of this animal was, 
to say the least, suspicious; and as the suc- 
cess of our friends in the hunting-field had 
caused considerable envy to be felt by less 

(385) 



286 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

fortunate sportsmen, Youngblood naturally 
suspected foul play; but, nothing daunted 
by their serious mishap, they gave no 
thought to abandoning their trip, and the 
younger hunter was dispatched to civiliza- 
tion for a new horse. Immediately upon his 
return they again got under way, pointing 
for the "Neutral Ground," and in about 
six days began to strike antelope in great 
plenty. 

We will not tire our readers with a descrip- 
tion of their various devices for securing 
these wary animals; suffice it to say that 
they soon obtained their load, and started 
on their return journey for the purpose of 
disposing of the results of their unerring 
rifles. 

The weather by this time had become 
exceedingly cold, and at each settlement 
which they passed through stories were told 
of the horrible deaths by freezing that befell 
the unfortunates who became lost on the 
I)rairies. To those who have never experi- 
enced really cold weather on the plains, 



? T'^'T ' v^;v^-' !"■ \ ■ : "■ 



TEERIBLE WEATHER. 287 

imagination is but a small aid to the realiz- 
ing sense which we each possess, and no de- 
scription can adequately describe- the feeling 
that comes over one who is alone in a track- 
less waste of snow, with nothing human 
within sight or hearing. The clear, dry air 
almost freezes the marrow in one's bones, 
bringing in its still embrace a sensation of 
almost pleasure, which to submit to is 
death. 

At Boston and Minneapolis, Col., as well 
as at Border City, Kan., Youngblood and 
his son heard continual reports of deaths 
from the terrible weather, and were urged to 
wait for a favorable change, but declined 
doing so, heroically pushing on over ground 
covered with snow to the depth of from three 
to four feet on a level. 

Finally, however, home was reached, and 
the tired men were heartily welcomed by 
their friends, the jaded beasts also coming 
in for their share in the general rejoicing. 

After resting for a month, Youngblood 
became tired of what to his active disposi> 



''"^^^^^^sfTf^. 



288 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

tion seemed idleness, and made np his mind 
to take a run into ''No Man's Land," to see 
what could be found in the way of game. 

For about four days his Journey was an 
uneventful one; but one night, when he was 
near the center of the "Panhandle" strip, a 
fierce hail-storm came up, nearly freezing 
him .to death, he being obliged to make his 
bed in four inches of hail, and on wet 
blankets. The night seemed endless; he 
dared not sleep, knowing that if he did so 
he would never awake, and when morning 
dawned he was nearly overcome with fatigue 
and cold, and having no fuel, of course, a 
fire was impossible. The hail, however, 
soon disajppeared, and he finally was able to 
make a fire, fortunately having some matches 
which he had wrapped in a piece of rubber 
cloth, thus keeping them dry. These storms 
usually cover a long but narrow section of 
country, Youngblood finding the one in 
question to be about three miles wide, and 
our readers may feel certain that he was 
glad when he was out of the "belt," and 



TERRIBLE WEATHER. 289 

seated before a huge fire of buffalo-chips for 
a thorough warming. 

After this agreeable pastime had been 
indulged in to his satisfaction, and the crav- 
ings of the inner man aj)peased, he again 
started. After traveling about thirty miles 
he reached a spring, where he found two 
men in camp. With that hospitality that is 
customary in the West, they invited him to 
spend the night, an invitation which he 
gladly accei^ted; and the result was that a 
very pleasant day was passed with them — a 
sudden snow-storm making still closer the 
intimacy which is usually the result of three 
in a bed — or rather three in a tent. 

With clearing weather our hero bade good- 
by to his newly made friends, and started 
for a small stream some twenty miles south. 
Here he found two men who had evidently^ — 
in their minds — preempted the hunting priv- 
ileges about it, as they had "bluffed out" 
other hunters as fast as they came. They 
began to operate on Youngblood in the same 
manner; but he was too old a bird to be so 

19 



290 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

easily caught, and after apparently swallow- 
ing their tales of Mexican Rangers coming 
up and arresting men almost without num- 
ber, and taking them off for trial, he finally 
began to laugh, and said: " Well, boys, 
that's a pretty good tune; but I have been 
listening to that kind of singing for eighteen 
years, so don't get discouraged if I don't get 
enthusiastic and say it's original music." 

This appeared to surprise the would-be 
owners of the earth, and they asked if he 
really had been about there so long. 

' ' Why, ' ' said our wily old friend, ' ' I guess 
that's a fact, for I helped clear the wolves 
out of this country; but I see there are two 
that I kinder overlooked. I'm still after 
'em, though." 

The men saw the point, and were so much 
pleased with the hearty way of the sturdy 
hunter that they became very friendly, and 
the result was that he remained several days 
with them. • 

There were a good many antelope — about 
twenty-six in all — in the region, which soon 



^K;^^•,.^5X.C.-^»;rl■«l#.■tl^•' • --■ 



TEEKIBLE WEATHEE. 291 

fell victims to his faithful Winchester, and 
a couple of buffalo also "bit the dust" at 
his fire. 

A Mr. French, from Maine, was one of the 
men just referred to, and he and Young- 
blood soon became very "chummy." This 
gentleman was a Mason and a fine fellow, in 
every way worthy to be associated with our 
hero. 

'No more game appearing inclined to turn 
up, a move toward Coolidge, Kan., was 
made, where, upon arrival, Youngblood 
found one of his sons very sick, with Doc- 
tors Smith and Boggs in attendance, who, 
although doing all in their power, had given 
him up as beyond hope. This was truly a 
sad home-coming for our gallant friend; but 
his grief was soon turned to joy, for, through 
the great care of these able physicians, and 
aided by the best gift of a stalwart father to 
his son — a glorious constitution — the disease 
turned, and hai^piness was soon in full com- 
mand at the hunter's western home. 



':^jS^iA<aBi8! 




!f^Jlfjmr^:rft^WT/'r-f ':; 



CHAPTER XXYI. 

ROLLINS' EANCH — A MONAECH OF THE PLAINS 
— JOLLY GOOD FELLOWS. 

On the lOth of March, although it was still 
unusually cold, Youngblood and French 
started again for "N'o Man's Land," being 
determined to work it for all it was worth 
in the way of game; and after traveling four 
days, reached the center of the strip. Just 
before they arrived at this point, they dis- 
covered a gray wolf on their trail, and as our 
friend has the same affection for wolves as we 
are informed His Satanic Majesty holds for 
holy water, he left the team, telling French to 
drive on, and in a few minutes returned with 
a skin which looked suspiciously like that 
worn by Mr. Wolf, and if the latter ever 
reached the bosom of his family, he must 
have made the journey without a pelt! 

A tremor of interest was also caused by 
the discovery of some animals quite a dis- 

(293) 



294 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

tance from tliem, and after using all the 
tricks of old hunters, finally our adventurers 
drew near enough to discover that they were 
cattle and a bunch of wild horses which had 
come in for water. It was natural to sup- 
pose that buffalo would also make use of 
the spring, and therefore Youngblood and 
French kept watch during the night, "lay- 
ing for them;" but they were too cunning, 
and failed to appear. 

It being useless to remain in this spot any 
longer, a start was made toward the south, 
and after going about twenty -five miles they 
reached a spring where three men were found 
who had been on a hunt, and had bagged 
one buffalo. This showed that there were 
some in the neighborhood, and a wait over 
night was made, but as no game appeared, 
our party bore off to the east twenty miles, 
reaching Howard's ranch in time to avoid a 
two-days' snow-storm. French concluded 
that the work was too tough for even him, 
and consequently Youngblood, who wouldn't 
be "bluffed" by any one, started south 



TWS5!^'V;'«'°:>'^'".'ir>Tv^*>^^^^ 



ROLLINS' RANCH. 295 

alone, reaching EoUins' rancli, wMch was 
situated on a fine stream. 

Rollins, who proved to be a fine fellow, was 
at home, and he and Yonngblood soon be- 
came very great friends. The former insisted 
upon the latter' s putting in a few days with 
him, and Youngblood was nothing loath to do 
so, as Rollins said buffalo came to the stream 
daily for water. The house was beautifully 
situated, and commanded a fine view of as 
delightful a scene as is often witnessed; the 
rolling prairie extending in one direction as 
far as the eye could see, while there was a fine 
belt of timber to the right, the wood extend- 
ing down the stream for a considerable dis- 
tance, and one sitting in the door of the cabin 
could see the pool frequented by the big 
brutes our friend was after. 

Youngblood was sitting about, smoking, 
occasionally glancing out for game, while 
Rollins was preparing a dinner which a 
lover of game would go miles to partake of. 
The delicious aroma of venison and brook- 
trout was playing about Youngblood' s nos- 



296 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

trils, when, glancing out of tlie door, he saw 
a fine bnffalo-buU leave the water, and after 
shaking his shaggy head, as it would seem, 
by way of challenge, started away. When 
discovered, the bull was about half a mile 
off; but Youngblood sprang for his rifle, 
and in an instant was out of the door and 
after him like a deer. The immense brute 
X^assed over a ridge before our hunter had 
gotten within range; but he ran to the top 
of the hill, and, although the shot was a long 
one, he fired, wounding the brute, who at 
once turned, and started round the base of 
the eminence. But the monarch of the 
plains was not to get off so easily, as he had 
met his master this time. Youngblood, 
anticipating his actions, ran to the foot of 
the hill to await his coming, and had hardly 
got into position when the infuriated bull 
charged him, and would have put an end to 
these adventures had not a perfectly aimed 
shot brought him to his knees, and the 
gleaming knife of our hunter sent him to 
the land of the good buffalo. 



P^|5JWi»l^^fS«/!|t*< J)W,< li'.^'^T^s- 



fTw^ir^'v* 



EOLLINS' RANCH. 297 

While Yonngblood was returning to the 
ranch, he met Rollins coming from there 
with two knives in his hand. 

"What are those for?" asked Young- 
blood. 

"Why," said Rollins, "to undress Mr. 
Buffalo, of course; you didn't think I wanted 
to eat him with his coat on, did you? " 

"You're fooled this time," said our 
hunter, by way of a Joke; "I missed him." 

"Come off!" remarked the ranch-owner. 
"I'd hate to have to eat all you didn't miss. 
You don't miss nothing. Where's the bull?" 

Youngblood's joke would not go down in 
the face of his reputation, so he finally ad- 
mitted that he had not missed this time; 
and the buffalo was soon stripped of his hide 
and taken to the ranch, w^here some juicy 
steaks were served for supper, much to the 
surprise of some travelers who drove up just 
before dusk, as they had no idea that such 
game was within a hundred miles of the 
house. 

It was a jolly party that spent that night 



-*;iv*jf-;r^S;7^;'7*«7Kp;5 



298 A MIGHTY HUNTER, 

at Rollins' ranch, and those present will not 
soon forget the good cheer that was freely 
oifered by their host. The party consisted 
of Dr. I. J. Nair, Messrs. J. H. Becker, J. 
W. Whitesell, and Daniel Crough, besides 
Youngblood and Rollins. The first-named 
gentlemen were out for the purpose of select- 
ing a town-site, and had located it a few 
miles from Rollins', being much pleased 
with the surrounding country, where, before 
many years have passed, will be found one 
of the most prosperous cities in the West, as 
nature has abundantly supplied it with her 
choicest gifts, and these gentlemen certainly 
are brainy enough to do the rest. 

Of course, many a story was told that 
night round the open fire, each being obliged 
to contribute his share to the merriment. 
Doctor Nair (who is now working emigration 
for the " buffalo pastures ") gave some vivid 
stories of his experience during the war; 
while Youngblood was obliged to open his 
pack, and, in his modest way, told hunting 
stories that would cause one to look nerv- 



^5We)PW>!rrV'-T%irw^JJ^i'^*^'* 



ROLLINS' EANCH. 299 

ously toward the door at one moment, while 
the next, his hearers wished for day, that 
they also might try the fascination of the 
chase. 

But the best of friends must part, and the 
sun rises with unpleasant regularity; so, in 
the course of time, it was necessary to stop 
the fun and give some attention to the mor- 
row. Consequently, after a few more pulls 
at their pipes, the company turned in, and 
when day broke, the next morning, it was ' ' up 
and away" with the irrepressible Young- 
blood, who turned his refreshed horses 
toward the river or stream Alf reo, which was. 
about eighty miles distant. Upon his arrival, 
he found two men encamped, and remained 
with them several days, during which time 
his deadly rifle was brought into use, and, 
as a result, several anteloiDe were added to 
his store, and two buffalo paid that tribute 
which their race seems to owe him. 

On the whole, however, "the game was 
hardly worth the candle," as the French 
king puts it, and after v/aiting at this point 



300 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

a few days longer, our hunter concluded to 
run home for repairs and ammunition; and 
therefore turned his horses' heads toward 
Coolidge, disposing of his load at good prices 
at Boston and Minneai^olis, and reaching his 
destination in good order, to find all well, 
and with another batch of stories for the 
youngsters, who will, perhaps, in days to 
come, follow his example. 



ppi^'n^SA'tjjjf^rfB;')^-- 



CHAPTEE XXVII. 

NO PAY, NO MEAT — ON THE TEAIL AGAIN — 
WATEE, WATER EVERYWHERE ! 

The growing scarcity of buffalo in his 
immediate neighborhood prompted Young- 
blood, in April, 1878, to plan a more 
extended trip, and, when all was ready, he 
started, with one of his boys, for a i^oint 
some 200 miles south of Coolidge. The 
main object of their journey was to capture 
buffalo-calves, but they jorepared for any-^ 
thing from the monarch of the plains to a 
Chicago " bunko-steerer; " but, of course, 
the latter were hardly to be expected. On 
the second day out, a couple of antelope 
were discovered feeding a short distance 
from the road; these they killed, and their 
carcasses were thrown on the wagon, which 
went creaking along until a house was 
reached, some ten miles further on. Upon 
hearing the noise made by the team, the 

(301) 



302 A MIGHTY IIUiSTTEE. 

owner of the cabin came to tlie door. In 
personal appearance, this individual much 
resembled a Georgia "Cracker," and he 
looked so hungry that Youngblood said : 

"Want these antelope ? " 

"Yes, stranger, you bet ! " 

" You can buy them cheap." 

"Buy ! I ain't buying till I sell my hoop- 
poles." 

"Well, can't trade, then; bye, bye ! " 

And away creaked the wagon, little know- 
ing how it would be called upon to groan 
later, for sand-hills were soon reached, and 
the ten miles through which that devoted 
vehicle passed would have tamed the proud 
spirit of the most arrogant "Tally-Ho" 
coach in existence. 

In the sage-brush which dotted these 
hills were innumerable prairie-chickens — or 
rather hens, as age should command respect 
at all times-^and the junior Youngblood 
was anxious to get some for the evening 
meal. This he did, but as the birds were of 
the "vintage of '38," that regard for antiq- 



' ■;'' : ■■, ■■■' ""■■■■'•.,.■ ■ ' ■ ' 'vfl 



NO PAY, NO MEAT. , 303 

uities which is part of the make-up of the 
true hunter would not permit them to be 
eaten. They were tasted, and that was quite 
enough; the pork-barrel contained delicacies 
compared to them. 

Piassing through "No Man's Land," our 
travelers finally reached the "Panhandle" 
of Texas, where they found John Rawlins' 
ranch, on the banks of a stream called Cold- 
water. On learning of the object of their 
journey, Rawlins said that he had cows for 
the calves, and wanted to Join our friends in 
their search. This was quite agreeable to 
Youngblood; consequently, after refilling 
the water-kegs (the country being very dry), 
the reinforced army took up its march for 
the diminutive bison. 

After two days' traveling, a section of the 
country was struck which was as devoid of 
vegetation as though a fire had swept over it, 
and, in looking for a grazing spot for the 
live stock, they finally found a depression 
covered with grass, and which had evidently 
been the bed of a small lake, and Just the 



304 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

camping-ground wanted. After congratulat- 
ing tliemselves on having their necessities so 
easily supplied, supper was eaten, the horses 
and mules picketed, and the human part of 
the outfit made wp their shake-downs in the 
body of the wagon for a comfortable night, 
and dreams of buffalo-calves galore. But, 
while man proposes, others get their work 
in; and about 10 o'clock it began to cloud 
uj), with lightning playing across the heav- 
ens most vividly. Then it began to rain; 
first came "the gentle dew" that Shakes- 
peare speaks of, and then St, S within took 
his hand in the game, and how it did hail ! 
This picturesque but uncomfortable mass 
nearly filled the body of the wagon, and, to 
add to the discomfort of the night, it sud- 
denly changed to rain, making a mixture to 
be carefully avoided, 

IS'early chilled to death, our unfortunates 
waited for the next change, fondly hoping 
that whatever might come would be warm; 
when Eawlins' horse began to snort, plunge, 
and kick in the most outrageous manner. 



?^:?- 



NO PAY, NO MEAT. 305 

Yoimgblood was anxious to learn the cause 
of the commotion, and putting his head 
between the flaps of the wagon-cover, saw a 
strange sight. They seemed to be in camp 
in the middle of a lake; the water was 
nearly up to the wagon-body, and still ris- 
ing, while Rawlins' horse was almost swim- 
ming ! 

There was no time to lose, and without a 
moment's hesitation Youngblood Jumped into 
the ice-cold water up to his waist, hitched up 
the team, and got them under way. ' 

It took them nearly half a day to get out 
of their delightful camp, and, to use Young- 
blood' s own words, "it was a trying time 
for us poor sinners. I don't know which is 
the worse, and I have experienced both — 
too much water or too little." 



20 



W^'^^ 



^iBM^rT^^j|W'/^.»Mf>:j- 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

YOUNGBLOOD AS A PISCATOR — O'BEIEN THE 
HUSTLER — YOUNGBLOOD, JUNIOR, WINS 
HIS SPURS — A MODERN ANANIAS — OUT- 
WITTING THE REDS. 

After having gotten safely out of their 
Slough of Despond, our friends steered their 
schooner for a point about twenty miles dis- 
tant, where a new town had been laid out 
only a few weeks, before. Upon arriving at 
their destination, they found a house to be 
sure, but not the slightest vestige of a town, 
as the sole building was occupied by Mr. 
Nick Whitsee, a carpenter, who was monarch 
of all he surveyed, and did the honors of the 
one-storied metropolis in a very hearty man- 
ner. 

While waiting for the night to come, and 
anticipating the satisfaction one feels in 
striking a comfortable place to sleep after 
having passed through severe hardships, 

C307) 



vv?m 



308 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

Youngblood and his friend were surprised 
at the arrival of two more unfortunates 
upon just such an errand as theirs. It 
seems that they also had been caught in the 
storm, being encamped on a small branch 
near the dry ( 1 ) lake which our hunters had 
congratulated themselves upon finding, and 
when the down-pour came, away went tent, 
grub, and, in short, everything that could 
float, and although they chased their traps 
ten miles or more down-stream, they were 
rewarded only by their labor for their pains. 
Their misadventure necessitated a change 
in the plans of our hunters, who were obliged 
to put back to Raw^lins' ranch for repairs 
and supplies, and when they reached his 
hospitable abode, life again seemed worth 
living. Youngblood' s son was so worked up 
over the description of their fun (?) that he 
was very anxious to take his father's place 
on the next trip, and the latter was only too 
glad to send a substitute, thinking that he 
could put in his time to good advantage with 
the hook and line, and in getting the rest 



j^rr-. 



YOUNGBLOOD AS A PISCATOR. 309 

which usually accompanies such a holiday. 
The hunting party was reinforced, Just before 
starting, by a Mr. Keys, who ^' could stand 
anything," but who gave up in disgust after 
they had gone about eighty miles, leaving 
Rawlins and Youngblood, junior, to continue 
the search for calves, but with no immediate 
satisfactory results. 

In the meantime, our hero was taking fish 
in great numbers, and, consequently, life 
easy. The location of his fishing-ground 
was on the divide between Farwell, Texas, 
and a new town which at that time was not 
old enough to possess a name, but which 
has since then undoubtedly been christened, 
and by this time must be thriving, as the 
location is a good one. The chief citizen 
was a Mr. O'Brien, and he was a "hustler" 
from head- waters. He didn't have time to 
fish, but about three times a day did manage 
to stop "booming" long enough to make 
Youngblood' s string look as though it had 
supplied a whole regiment of famished men. 
This O'Brien was the typical Western man 



310 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

of enterprise. If you couldn't use the land 
for farming or building purposes, his assur- 
ance that it was "good to eat on bread" 
secured the customer and closed the trade ! 

While Youngblood was coaxing three- 
pound trout from their hiding-places, 
O'Brien was on the jump, preparing for the 
arrival of thirty-three families of Dunkards 
that were on their way to this point, and, of 
course, he "got there with both feet." 

The place seemed to be quite a stamping- 
ground for the followers of Izaak Walton, 
and one old gentleman named Murphy, who 
had stopped for a few minutes to look on, 
remained two days enjoying the amusement. 

While the father was having fun with the 
finny tribe, the son had struck pay-dirt, hav- 
ing run across a herd of buffalo with which 
there were some calves. The boy had much 
of the spirit of the father In him, and, dash- 
ing into the bunch, secured one calf (which 
was quite young) with little difficulty; but 
one frisky young bull led him a lively race 
for about five miles, and had he not been 



YOUNGBLOOD AS A PISOATOE. 311 

well mounted, lie might have been "taken 
into camp" himself instead of being the 
captor, for the moment he reached over from 
his cayuse and caught the calf by the tail, 
the brute set up the most unearthly bellow, 
which brought Mrs. Buffalo down upon 
them, head and tail up, like a hog in a corn- 
field. For a moment it looked serious for 
the young fellow, as it is not a pleasant sen- 
sation to feel that you are the chief attrac- 
tion for an infuriated beast, and a thousand 
pounds of live buffalo-meat was coming for 
him for all there was in the game. But the 
boy was nervy, and did not for a moment 
think of dropping his prize; so, pulling his 
revolver, he fired, fortunately breaking the 
fore leg of the cow, which pat her out of the 
race, and, subsequently, her hide in the 
wagon. 

These two calves were all our friends suc- 
ceeded in capturing, for, although they 
hunted far and wide, no more were seen, and 
for the first time they began to realize that 
the noble buffalo is practically extinct. 



.■^■^r'5;'^f.^P 



312 A MIGHTY HTJISTTER. 

Youngblood says that tliere are but compar- 
atively few left out of the millions that have 
ranged on the plains, and instead of seeing 
the earth black with these mighty brutes, as 
he has seen it, a bleached skull here and 
there is about all that is left. Civilization 
has driven them the way of the red-skins, 
and instead of hearing the thunder of their 
hoofs on the prairie, the noise of the reaper 
greets the ear, and the sun of progress dis- 
pels the mist of romance with which the 
magic pen of Fenimore Cooper had envel- 
oped the West. 

Owing to this scarcity, Youngblood found 
himself compelled to fall back upon his old 
love — antelope. They had been having alto- 
gether too happy a time of it, and to re- 
mind them that he had not quite forgotten 
them, after his long rest, he made up his 
mind to set out for a likely place which he 
knew of near the head- waters of the north 
fork of the Cimarron River, and about thirty 
miles south of the beautiful and prosperous 
town of Lakin, which place he designed to 



J^^'"- 



YOUNGBLOOD AS A PISCATOR. 313 

make his headquarters. He took his four 
boys along with him, as this was to be merely 
a business trip. They had four wagons, and 
hoped to make a couple of trips out of Lakin 
before the weather drove the antelope to the 
far south. 

On a lovely morning they started. The 
weather — bright and glorious — seemed to 
put new life into the party as it bowled along 
over the smooth prairie, with the prospect of 
plenty of game ahead, as, from all rex^orts, 
antelope had been seen in large quantities 
within twenty miles, right on their track. 
They had bought two new horses in Lakin, 
both of which proved to be magnificent ani- 
mals — one of them especially, which they 
afterward used in the saddle, and found to 
be a "hummer." The boy Jim named her 
" Dame Trot," and' claimed her as his own, 
which Youngblood generously allowed, as 
the boy loved a good horse, and knew one 
when he saw him. Just before they pitched 
camp for the night, Youngblood took a good 
look round, as usual, and about five miles 



314 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

straiglit ahead, near the Cimarron River, he 
spied a solitary buffalo standing on a high 
bluff. This was too much for him, so he 
took the freshest horse he had, and taking- 
advantage of a dip in the prairie to the left, 
rode within 400 yards without being seen, 
dismounted, and at 800 yards tried a shot at 
the buffalo's hump, which, from the lay of 
the land, was about all he could see. It was 
a lucky shot, and the bull dropped, startling 
the rest of the herd, which numbered five, 
toward the river. For the first day out, this 
was not so bad, and had Youngblood not re- 
sisted the temptation to further test his 
marksmanship, might have been better. 
When he got back to camp he found a man 
there who was out for game, and who had been 
attracted by the shots in the direction of the 
camp. Youngblood had brought the hump 
of the buffalo along, and was fortunately in 
a i^osition to play the host to advantage. 
While supper was being prepared, two of the 
boys went after the meat which had been left 
behind. The stranger was a great talker. 



7 



YOUNGBLOOD AS A PISOATOB. 315 

and a very Nimrod withal, and to liini Young- 
blood was indebted (?) for many practical 
hints and much information in regard to 
hunting, which, to a tenderfoot, would have 
been most edifying. He mentioned Mr. 
Youngblood's name as that of a great hunter, 
and told how many buffalo they had killed 
together; which, considering the fact that 
our friend had never seen this modern 
Ananias before, was not without its point. 
However, he left him to enjoy his narrative 
undisturbed. He said that he had that 
morning passed a party of four gentlemen, 
amateurs in the profession, who were footing 
it to Lakin, having had their horses stolen by 
a party of Indians from the south, who had 
ventured to defy the proprieties and run the 
risk of trouble with the authorities. This 
was unpleasant news, as our party had stock 
to lose, and it behooved them to be on the 
watch, as it had happened only a few miles 
beyond tlie Cimarron River. 

The next morning Mr. Stranger went his 
way, and Youngblood and his party pulled 



T'_':-^i^<er.'^<n 



316 A MIGHTY HUNTEK. 

out for the south. They crossed the river in 
the afternoon of that day, without seeing 
any game. As soon as they had passed the 
river and reached the top of the bluff border- 
ing it, they could see a light smoke ahead of 
them, invisible to an unpracticed eye, which 
might mark the camp either of the Indians or 
of the disgruntled amateurs, though they 
feared, from the looks of the smoke (which 
was evidently from a fire of well-dried wood), 
that the Indians were there, and that their 
neighbors were unpleasant ones. 

Next morning, an hour after sunrise, they 
were on the road, and soon reached a good 
camp. Taking his son, who was a credit to 
his teacher, Youngblood rode toward a well- 
wooded bluff marking a bend in the river, in 
search of game, and soon sighted a large 
herd of anteloiDe making for them. Con- 
cealing their horses as best they could, the 
hunters laid down, facing the wind and the 
antelope, which kept on straight toward 
their hiding-place at such speed as indicated 
that they had scented something. On they 



ipiji^ii, J/. «?'/!#'!"- 



YOUNGBLOOD AS A PISCATOE. 317 

came, and were soon within thirty yards, 
when our friends, each singling out his shot, 
fired, getting two at the first volley. At 
sound of the shot, the herd stood stock still, 
and before it broke away to the left they 
had two more, and three more fell from four 
flying shots, leaving Youngblood well satis- 
fled, and the boy delighted at the good work 
they had done. As agreed, the boys from the 
camp were soon on hand with a team, and 
the executioners went on ahead after more, 
but all day without success. 

That night they were startled by the neigh- 
ing of the horses, and at once thinking that 
Indians might be around, Youngblood started 
up to satisfy himself that the stock were 
all right. He found Dame Trot, but could 
see nothing of the others, and gave them up 
for lost. The Indians were evidently hard 
cases, and poor neighbors to have around; so 
sending one of the boys out next morning on 
their trail to keep them in touch, Young- 
blood started off on foot for the nearest town 
to get horses. He had some trouble in secur- 



318 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

ing what he wanted, but in a conple of days 
succeeded in getting three that pleased him. 
They were fine, strong animals, that had not 
done much work. After warning the settlers 
to be on the lookout for the Indians, Young- 
blood started back for camp, and had not 
gone ten miles on his journey before he met 
his son, who had ridden out to meet him 
with the news that he had succeeded in 
recovering all the horses, and getting clear 
away before the Indians got a chance at him. 
It was lucky that Youngblood had brought 
out two old hunters with him, which he had 
done as a measure of precaution, thinking it 
best to strengthen the party as much as 
possible. All haste waS made back to camp, 
where everything was found quiet and un- 
disturbed, although they felt sure that the 
Indians must be still sneaking around. 

It seems that Youngblood, junior, had rid- 
den out on the trail of the Indians after leav- 
ing camp, and had managed to keep out of 
their sight until about noon, when he sighted 
their camp-fire, and carefully creeping up as 



Vr7-t'.' 



YOUNGBLOOD AS A PISOATOE. 319 

near as he could with safety, within range of 
a good field-glass with which he had supplied 
himself, he made out that something unusual 
was going on. The Indians aU appeared to 
be asleep under the shelter of their tepees of 
branches of trees and grasses, for the day 
was very warm for the season of the year- 
all except one, a sentry, who sat nodding on 
his bronco, and evidently much more inter- 
ested in a familiar-looking object which he 
held in his hand, and appeared to use as a 
trumpet at frequent intervals, than in his 
duty. It was hard work blowing into this 
instrument, as he seemed to get very weary 
over it, and finally sliding to the ground, he 
appeared to have got through with his sentry 
duty, as he made no sign thereafter. 

Our young hunter suspected that the object 
of his attentions was a bottle, and, embold- 
ened by appearances, crept up closer and 
closer until within 100 yards, where he lay at 
the edge of his cover cogitating over the situa- 
tion. The fire-water had been too much for 
the ''reds," who lay oblivious to every- 



■ ^y-i'^-^Vf^. 



320 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

tiling, perliaxDS dreaming of their happy 
hunting-grounds — evidently, from the num- 
ber of the slain (in bottles), safe from all 
trouble and care for some time to come. 
The boy made up his mind that he would 
risk it, feeling certain that the awakening- 
would not be yet, and try to secure the 
horses, which were i^icketed close by the 
camp; so walking boldly up, it was but the 
work of a moment to cut the tethers, leap on 
the back of the best of the horses, and run 
for it. The Indians never moved, and the 
victor rode into camp leading the spoils 
behind him. This was too much like old 
times, so a council was at once called, at 
which it was decided to send the two 
youngest boys back to Lakin, and keep on 
the hunt without them. 

'Nex.t day, with the help of the two 
recruits, our party got ten antelope, and 
started the boys off with one wagon and a 
small load, and with Youngblood, Junior, for 
an escort on "Dame Trot." The following 
afternoon the young man was back, having 



IgP^^^^g^,^^^^,^;^.^,,-. 



TOUNGBLOOD AS A PISCATOR. 321 

seen liis convoy into safety without accident 
or anything important to report. The Indians 
had evidently left for parts unknown, doubt- 
less alarmed at the size of the party and 
Master Youngblood's way of doing things; 
consequently they heard no more of them 
for several weeks, though they kept a good 
lookout, and ran no risks with their live 
stock. 

During the next two weeks antelope were 
so plentiful that our party got over 200 of 
them, and finding sport so good, made a 
business of drying the meat and salting down 
the hides, until they had all they could 
carry, when the party turned head toward 
Lakin, at which point they disposed of their 
spoils to good advantage, and laid off for a 
few days' rest which they had so fully earned. 



21 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

a new edition of the one-hoese shay — 
a mighty hunt — a needless scaee — 
"vengeance is mine," saith the PIO- 

NEEE — A SCEIMMAGE WITH LO VEEMIN. 

A life of idleness seemed wholly unfitted 
for Youngblood, who, after remaining a few 
days in Lakin, was approached by a couple 
of men from Pennsylvania, who were very 
anxious to have him secure a bunch of wild 
horses for them. This was an undertaking 
which our alert friend was most willing to 
Join in; so he started on a tour of explora- 
tion, returning with the information that 
he had discovered a band of twenty-seven. 
The gentlemen from the Keystone State at 
once engaged him to bring them in, and our 
hunter started— this time in a buggy, for a 
change. This luxurious method of traveling, 
however, was not kept up long; for the first 
day out, and while feeding his team (not 

(323) 



324 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

having time to unliarness), a veritable whirl- 
wind struck tlie outfit, hoisting a buffalo- 
robe in the air and throwing it on the horses, 
evidently" much to their disgust, for when 
they were through kicking there was not 
enough of the buggy left to even carry the 
monument the city of New York has been 
so long erecting to the memory of General 
Grant ! 

This certainly was not an agreeable thing 
to have occur; but Youngblood was out 
for horses, and horses he proposed getting; 
so imi^ro vising a saddle from the fateful robe, 
he went on his way, but not rejoicing. 

Now, while a saddle of this description 
is better — a little better — than the upper 
stringer of a rail-fence, the wildest fancy can 
not make it a Whitman; so Youngblood' s 
chase of fifteen days after the broncos was 
a trying one for him; but he finally reached 
their grazing-place. 

To get these timid animals was the next 
thing to be done, and all of our hero's 
knowledge of their habits was brought into 



NEW EDITION OF ONE-HORSE SHAY. 

play to bring about his success. The leader 
of the band was a magnificent black stallion 
with a perfectly marked star of white in his 
forehead, and for three days he proudly 
defied his would-be captor. He was finally 
"creased" by a single shot from Young- 
blood's Winchester, and when his haughty 
spirit had been broken by the hunter, he 
became the decoy that brought his harem 
and family into captivity. 

It seems almost incredible that one human 
mind could accomplish the feat of capturing 
so many beasts at one time; but this Young- 
blood did, arriving in Lakin with the entire 
twenty-seven, and the would-be owners 
gladly handed him $280 for the bunch- 
making his three-weeks' jaunt quite a profit- 
able one. 

During the early summer, Youngblood 
made numerous excursions out of Lakin, 
with varying results, and in August found 
himself at Wallace, Kan., where rumors 
reached his ears that buffalo were quite 
plenty some distance to the northeast. Even 



' 'm' 



326 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

a rumor of such a state of affairs was suffi- 
cient to put him on the qid mm; so he 
organized a party — five, including himself — 
and determined to make a thorough search 
for the game, being anxious to secure their 
hides, which the slow but sure extinction of 
the animals brought into good demand. 

The party was fully equipped, and after 
journeying for about 150 miles from Wallace, 
meeting with only the usual adventures per- 
taining to such a trip, they began to observe 
signs of the game they were after, and one 
day struck a large herd grazing near a forty- 
acre corn-field connected with a lonely ranch. 
Fire was immediately opened on the buffalo, 
and then the fun began. The startled brutes 
made for the corn-field breaking through 
fences as though they were impediments of 
straw, with the hunters in full pursuit, the 
crack of their rifles resounding on every side, 
and the pursuers yelling like Comanches. 

Once among the waving corn, the shaggy 
animals were doomed, their heavy bodies 
being no match, in the soft ground, for the 



W«!^"?t^J^''^Fi'~'-:- 



NEW EDITION OF ONE-HORSE SHAY. 327 

light and wiry broncos ridden by our hunt- 
ers, and the slaughter was immense, as when 
Winchesters were empty, revolvers were 
brought into use, and when the shooting 
ceased the corn-field was as flat as though an 
able-bodied cyclone had camped "there, much 
to the disgust of the owner of the ranch, 
who saw in a few moments the work of his 
season destroyed, as the corn was still in 
the milk. A generous supply of fresh meat, 
however, partially appeased him, and after 
stripping the victims of their hides, the 
hunters started toward Prairie-dog Creek, 
near the edge of the settlement. 

When the party drew in sight, the settlers 
became much alarmed, and our friends could 
see men running from the different cabins to 
the largest one, each man carrying in his 
hands a rifle, which flashed no i^leasant wel- 
come in the summer sun. They soon dis- 
covered that the new-comers were a party of 
friends, and were overjoyed at the sight of 
white men. 

The cause of their previous actions was 



,'->-y:':5;'«^l!*5^ 



328 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

soon learned. It seems that a band of red- 
skins had been in the neighborhood the day 
before, and had killed a lad of twelve whom 
they met some little way from the settlement, 
leaving his scalped and mutilated body to 
the tender mercies of a broiling sun and 
howling coyotes. This information caused 
our party to reload their empty shells, with 
a view to giving the red devils a reception 
more warm than cordial, should they put in 
an aiDpearance. 

After these preparations were made, the 
hunters took the trail of the butchers, and 
just before sundown found their deserted 
cam]3, the cold ashes of their fires showing 
that they had long since moved off. As an 
evidence of the utter worthlessness of this 
race, and to show their total lack of any sense 
of obligation, our hunter found tliese noble 
red men had left behind them to its fate a 
poor, worn-out horse, whose body was covered 
with cruel sores received in their service, and 
now that, through their brutality, he was 
useless, they would not spend a rifle-ball to 



NEW EDITION OF ONE-HOESE SHAY. 329 

put him out of his misery, leaving him to be 
pulled to pieces by wolves when he fell from 
exhaustion, while they saved the leaden ]pel- 
let which an all-wise (?) Government gratu- 
itously supplies them, to use it against 
peaceable settlers! Surely, the Indian ques- 
tion is a vexatious one; but if the pioneers 
in the West were only let alone, they would 
settle it quickly. A rifle bullet is the only 
argument that appeals to these dirty out- 
casts, and their only permanent civtlizer. 

The suffering horse was put out of its 
misery, and our friends, leaving one of their 
number on sentry duty, rolled themselves in 
their blankets, and, with the starry heavens 
for ceiling, found that sleep which only tired 
jnen obtain. 

Bright and early next morning a start was 
made, and, after going about ten miles, the 
sudden rising of two buzzards, and a hurried 
scamper of wolves from a clump of timber 
near, caused an investigation; and a horrible, 
but at the same time satisfactory, sight met 
the eyes of Youngblood and his friends; 



330 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

for in the timber, and badly torn by wolves 

and buzzards, were tlie remains of three 

* 
Indians, the stench arising from their decom- 
posing bodies showing that they must have 
quit stealing and murdering about two weeks 
before, and the holes through each head — 
clean-cut in front and jagged in the back — 
showed that there was one white man, at 
least, who knew his business! 

Leaving the dead carrion to its living 
prototype, our party moved ofP, and continued 
through the day to see signs of buffalo, 
which had undoubtedly been driven off by 
the Indians, the evidences of whose proximity 
were plenty. 

Matters began to look ripe for a " scrap," 
and great caution was observed in camping 
that night; a sharp watch was kept, but no 
"reds" appeared, and one by one ®ur party 
dropped off to sleep, with their loaded Win- 
chesters beside them. 

About sunrise, one of the party heard a 
noise, and, shielding his eyes with his hand 
from the rays of the rising sun, saw a band 



Pff *»?Ji^f7»)fW»i.)C«f if w^t^rV •? JM 



NEW EDITION OF ONE-HOESE SHAY. 331 

of so-called braves, with their paint on, 
secreted behind a bank, near the edge of the 
timber. As he was about to raise an alarm, 
the well-known whiz of an arrow brought 
full consciousness to Youngblood, who 
awoke just in time to see an arrow strike the 
other hunter's extended hand, pinning it, 
cap and all, to his skull! 

In an instant all hands were wide-awake, 
and the crack of rifles on one hand, and sing- 
ing of arrows on the other, showed- that both 
sides "had blood in the eye." But although 
there Were at least four Indians to one white, 
the vermin (whose idea of a fight is to find a 
man with his back toward him) weakened at 
the first volley, and disappeared in the tim- 
ber, taking with them four of their number 
who seemed badly hurt. 

Owing to their numbers, and not loiowing 
how badly his own party was injured, 
Youngblood did not think pursuit advisable, 
and turned his attention to his friends. The 
man who had discovered the band still had his 
hand (the left) pinned to his head, but dur- 



A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

ing the scrimmage had nervily worked his 
gun to good advantage with the right, and 
the imprisoned member was not released 
until Youngblood pulled out the arrow, to do 
which no small amount of force was neces- 
sary. Fortunately, the arrow was about 
spent, or the bow sending it was a weak one; 
otherwise another honest man would have 
been made a victim of Uncle Sam's Indian 
policy — or the lack of one. Finding the 
injury comparatively trifling, Youngblood 
continued his investigation, and was much 
alarmed to find one of the party missing. 
ISTo one had seen him during the "scrap," 
and fear was felt as to his safety. 

It was only after a repeated shouting of 
his name, that a brush-heap a few yards 
from camp seemed to move, and presently a 
voice, as low as that which conscience is sup- 
posed to possess, was heard saying: ' ' Young- 
blood! Ho! Youngblood, did you get'emaZZ.^ 
Leave three for me any way;" and a pallid 
face appeared in the center of the brush. 
The situation was too ludicrous to admit of 



f^ 



:»r*^3:\^ip(^i ^^ Y.'^^ ■ 



NEW EDITiaN OF ONE-HOESE SHAY. 333 

any respect for the fear that belied his 
words, and a yell of laughter greeted the 
hero when he emerged from his hiding-place, 
where he went, as he said, for the purpose 
of ambushing the "reds;" but as he had 
carefully left his gun behind, the assertion 
must be taken cum grano sails. 

The situation looked so squally that our 
friends remained on the watch all day and 
that night; but the Indians not appear- 
ing, the party moved off in the morning, 
seeing, soon after their start, a man on foot 
who made signals of distress to them. They 
at once approached, and found him to be 
an old friend whose camp the Indians had 
descended upon the day before, and after rob- 
bing him of all they could take with them, 
piled the ,balance of his goods upon his only 
wagon, applied the torch, and fire soon 
aided them in destroying everything that he 
possessed, leaving 200 fine buffalo-skins to 
rot. Not content with this, the devils tied 
him to a tree, placing meat and water just 
out of his reach, and left him in that position, 



334 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

to die a death of indescribable horror. He 
finally broke the thongs that bound him, and 
reached our party more dead than alive, and 
as perfect a picture of misery as one can meet. 
As the loads were completed, and ammu- 
nition getting low, Youngblood determined 
to start for Wallace; so, taking their new- 
found companion, they proceeded on their 
way, meeting, at Beaver River, six men who 
had been outlawed for high crimes. These 
fellows wished our friends to join their party 
in a hunt, but of course they declined doing 
so. The outlaws were very hospitable, and 
begged so hard that Youngblood finally 
promised not to tell the authorities of their 
whereabouts, and again moved toward Wal- 
lace, reaching there in the midst of great 
excitement regarding Indians, who yvere sup- 
posed to have captured our friends, as they 
had been out forty-five days. But Young- 
blood laughed, and said he could stand the 
pressure as long as the red cusses. Selling 
his load of skins, he again took up the pipe 
of peace, which he lighted for a long smoke. 



JfKK. 



:/r ^' ' ,. -.< ■ 'f ' 



CHAPTER XXX. 

GARDEN CITY— SEVERAL SUCCESSFUL HUNTS 
—HEAVY SNOW— A BLINDED BULL. 

For some time after the events recorded in 
the last chapter, Youngblood did but little 
hunting, feeling that he deserved a good 
rest, but on several occasions piloted people 
from the East on hunts for buffalo, much to 
their enjoyment, for many had never seen 
such big game, owing to the inability of their 
guides to find it; and the exclamations of 
surprise and delight, as animal after animal 
fell at Youngblood's fire, were the source of 
considerable entertainment to him. 

Among other places visited was Garden 
City, founded by two old buffalo-hunting 
friends of Youngblood, who stuck by it 
through thick and thin, and finally have the 
pleasure of seeing in it onle of the most 
thriving of the many like places that are 

(335) 



336 A MIGHTY IIUNTEE. 

growing up in the heart of a region where, a 
few years before, Youngblood had seen buf- 
falo by the thousand, roaming over the roll- 
ing and flower-dotted prairie. 

While at Wallace, a surveying party, 
bound for the " Panhandle " of Texas, came 
along, and their implements were a source of 
much curiosity to the settlers, who could not 
understand what the outfit meant. Young- 
blood, however, was too sharp to be fooled, 
and finally discovered, from the drift of their 
questions regarding the lay of the land, that 
they were out for the purpose of laying out 
an irrigating ditch, and, to aid them, our 
hero went to many localities with them. 
Among other looints, Grenada, Col., was 
visited, and the i)arty awakened much 
interest, but no one knew the truth. Young- 
blood having promised to keep silent for 
thirty days. 

One night the party was nearly drowned 
out of a dug-out; and the wit of the company 
said: "Boys, let's go home. If this is a 
sample of the climate, we had better plant 



^Sf^rmV^W^^^l^ 



GAEDEN CITY. 337 

sponges than put our money into a ditch;" 
but as this rain-fall was most extraordinary, 
the surveyors were satisfied. 

Youngblood kept the party in wonder, 
meat, and high spirits by his great marks- 
manship and good nature — one day knock- 
ing over a wolf that had the audacity to 
attempt the carrying off of an antelope from 
under their very noses, which our hunter had 
killed for supper. 

Having taken this party over the desired 
route, and the scheme proving an undoubted 
success, Youngblood again started after buf- 
falo, which were in great demand, and at one 
time, in his search for them, passed through a 
country in which for fifty miles there was 
not a drop of water except that which he 
carried in his own wagon. This necessitated 
his letting many good opportunities for buf- 
falo escape him, as at such times water is 
more valuable than even food, as all know 
who have really felt the pangs of thirst. 
Finally a ranch was reached, and in reply to 
Youngblood' s question as to whether there 

22 



338 A MIGHTY HUNTEE. 

were any buffalo in the neighborliood, the 
only occupant of the cabin tried to dissuade 
him from pursuing his journey; but when 
our friend starts for anything, he does not 
quit until he attains his object. When Mr. 
Ranchman tumbled to this fact, he admitted 
there might be some, which proved to be the 
case, for the next day Youngblood came 
upon a herd of about 600, out of which he 
got several, finishing his load in a few days; 
and on arriving at Coolidge he was gladly 
received, not only for himself, but for his 
load as well, as it was the first buffalo -meat 
seen in a long time — less skillful hunters not 
being able to get any. 

It was now October, and, after a few days' 
rest, Youngblood decided to make another 
trip to the buffalo herd, and visit the taci- 
turn ranchman as well. Upon arriving at 
his cabin, the latter was very anxious to 
make a trij). Taking him along, a herd 
of fifty was soon spied, and, by careful 
maneuvering on the part of Youngblood, four 
were secured, greatly to the wonder of the 



GAEDEN CITY. 339 

inexperienced hunter, who was so much 
excited over this (to Youngblood) common 
incident, that he couldn't help dress the 
slain, and probably has not wholly recovered 
up to this day. 

. A few more buffalo and several antelope 
made up the load, which was immediately 
gobbled up by the hungry inhabitants of 
Coolidge, who cried for "more" as lustily 
as Oliver Twist ever did. 

To supply their demand, another start was 
soon made, Youngblood taking one of his 
sons with him this trip. The second day out, 
having met with no buffalo, the younger 
hunter became discouraged, and wanted to 
remain at Cimarron River for antelope. This 
he did, but Youngblood pushed on about 
twenty miles, and soon discovered, with the 
aid of his field-glass, two buffalo-cows, which 
he determined to have; but as the ground 
was a deJid level, some sly crawling was nec- 
essary to the fulfillment of his desires. By 
this time the reader knows our old friend 
well enough to feel certain that those two 



340 A MIGHTY HUKTEE. 

COWS were in the wagon very shortly; and so 
they were. 

'' When watering his stock that night, just 
before supper, wolves showed up in large 
numbers, and the poison-box was again 
brought into use, and in the morning six 
large gray bodies that had once been wolves 
were lying within a few rods of camp. 
Youngblood took off their pelts, and sitting 
down for a little rest, soon discovered five 
large buffalo coming for water. When 
they got in range he fired and wounded two. 
But fhej started off in different directions, 
and he was bound to have at least one. 
Quick work was necessary, as the prairie was 
on fire about six miles away, and coming 
directly toward him. Another shot soon 
dropped one of the bulls, and if ever the hide 
came off a buffalo's back in quick time, it 
was that particular skin, and tracks were 
made to a point near the lake, where the 
grass was so short that the fire would not 
reach the spot. 
There, Youngblood watched the flight of 



ww^ 



fV'.^"* >.■•:*" 



GAEDEN CITY. 341 

the animals driven out by the fire, as tliey 
swept past; but tlie sight was not an un- 
usual one for him, so he turned in and slept 
the sleep of the healthy in body and mind, 
awaking early in the morning to find one of 
his mules missing, and, as luck would have it, 
the remaining one was a "bucker" of the 
worst sort; but he gave up his attempt to 
worry Youngblood off his back when he 
finally discovered that such a thing was an 
impossibility, notwithstanding his "bucks" 
and jumps, and went quietly along until the 
younger hunter was met, with whom our old 
friend returned once more to Coolidge. 

Many such hunts were indulged in during 
the next few weeks, some being in snow- 
storms so dense that an object was hardly 
visible at the shortest distance. On one 
occasion, when about sixty-five miles out, 
the snow-fall was astonishing, covering the 
ground to a depth of from eight inches to 
three feet; and while Youngblood and his 
son were making the best time they could 
for a point of safety, the younger man dis- 



342 A MIGHTY HUISTTEE. 

covered a single buffalo-bull, so covered with 
snow that he looked more like a pile of wool 
than an animated object. Youngblood, of 
course, must have him, even if he froze to 
death in the attempt, and finally threw his 
skin in the wagon, although the cold was so 
intense as to freeze it while it was being 
taken off. 'No wonder the West is a grand 
country, when men of this nerve abound! 

Now and then would come a day in which 
a buffalo or so could be added to the load, 
which was finally completed, and ' ' home 
again!" was the word. The cold continued 
intense, with heavy falls of snow almost 
daily, making the journey dangerous as well 
as diflicult. Sometimes a drift would be 
struck that necessitated hitching the horses 
to the rear axle-tree to release the wagon, 
and one day the wheels stuck so firmly in a 
hole that two days were spent in digging them 
out. Thus it will be seen what hardships 
our two friends were called ui^on to meet and 
conquer. One of their most valuable horses 
fell on the ice one day, breaking his leg, and 



GAEDEN CITY. 343 

nothing but a sliot from Yonngblood's 
revolver put an end to its suffering. One of 
the wagons must now be abandoned. So, 
transferring the most valuable part of the load 
to the other vehicle, and making- a " spike 
team," they pushed their weary beasts with 
all the vigor possible toward Coolidge. 
Reaching Sisson's ranch, the welcome he 
offered was a veritable Godsend, and around 
his blazing fire they were told that they had 
been given up for lost, as many lives had 
been lost in the terrible weather. This gen- 
tleman' s hospitality was fully appreciated; 
and after a night's rest, and with a present 
of a generous quantity of fresh meat, our 
friends again started on their weary journey 
home, crossing the Arkansas River on the ice, 
and reaching Coolidge, to find that the local 
paper had published an article to the effect 
that they had met death on the plains. 
While Youngblood has slept warm in snow 
a foot deep, it is too dangerous a practice to 
be indulged in, for death very often follows; 
and a couple of blankets in front of a blaz- 



344 A MIGHTY HU]SrTER. 

ing fire, in a comfortable house, is inucli to be 
preferred to the former manner of passing 
the night, all romances to the contrary not- 
withstanding. 

About this time, so many investors wanted . 
to see the country, that Youngblood made 
rather a business of acting as guide, in which 
he was engaged, with a friend named M. M. 
James, for about eight months; but his 
' ' hankering ' ' for buffalo was too strong to 
be set aside, so he, with a man named W. 
Manghend, started to look some up. On their 
first trip they ran across a herd of nearly 
200, out of which Youngblood alone got 
five, his " side partner" being too much sur- 
prised at the sight of the herd to do much 
more than stare at them. These, with a few 
antelope, were about all they wanted for that 
hunt, and they therefore started for Cool- 
idge by way of Butte City; but the wolves 
annoyed them so during their first night that 
they were again obliged to have recourse to 
the poison-box, with the usual result. . 

When Youngblood reached Butte, the 



GARDElSr CITY. 345 

town — made up of eastern men, chiefly, who 
had never seen a buffalo — turned out en 
Qiiasse, and the meat went like hot cakes. 
Many of the settlers at once started out on a 
little hunt of their own, determined to "do 
the old man up " by getting a big bull, freez- 
ing him, and standing him erect in the 
wagon, to show that Youngblood was not 
the only hunter in the section. But these 
enterprising individuals came back, after 
being gone five days, with their tails — so to 
speak — "between their legs," and it didn't 
seem as though much exertion was required 
to lift Mr. Buffalo into the wagon, as it 
turned out to be a jack-rabbit, and a one- 
eared one at that. The rest of the game 
consisted of a wall-eyed jprairie-dog, killed 
probably with a stick; but they got so hun- 
gry for fresh meat that they had to eat him! 
After this failure they ceased attempting to 
take Youngblood' s well-earned laurels from 
him. 

Early in December, the people of Coolidge 
urged Youngblood to go and get them some 



346 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

buffalo-meat for Christmas dinner; and, 
although the weather was cold and the days 
short, he was willing to inconvenience him- 
self to accommodate them, and started out, 
returning with a good load on Christmas eve, 
amid much rejoicing. 

A very singular incident occurred while he 
was out this time, which is worth relating. 
One day he struck a herd, and, after getting 
as close to them as he could, fired, causing 
one bull to stumble, but who immediately 
started oil, but so slowly as to show that he 
was considerably hurt. Youngblood knew 
that he was all right, and so gave his atten- 
tion to the others, killing one at the first fire, 
and then knocking another down, who im- 
mediately recovered his feet and charged, 
with "blood in his eye;" but our hunter 
didn't scare worth a cent, and, being well 
armed, soon put an end to the excited beast. 
In the meantime, the wounded bull had 
turned, and was stumbling along toward, our 
friend, who could not imagine what made 
him use so peculiar a gait. Another shot 



rn^^r:. 



GAEDEN CITY. 347 

stopped him altogether, and Youngblood 
found, upon examination, that the first bul- 
let had put out both his eyes. . 

But, as has been said, Coolidge was 
reached in good time for Christmas, the load 
being nearly 5,000 pounds of buffalo, sev- 
eral antelope, and twenty wolves ; but the 
good people came near going hungry, as. 
Just as he reached Butte City, Youngblood 
took a severe chill, owing to his hard work, 
and would not have eaten his Christmas 
dinner at Coolidge — or, iDerhaps, anywhere — 
had not Doctor Rickenbaugh, of Butte, used 
every effort, and finally brought him out of 
danger. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

DKEAMS GO BY COJSTTEARY — GAME PLENTIFUL 
— ^PEAIRIES.OlSr FIRE — A DUDE HUNTEE. 

After the holidays, Youngblood's sons 
were very anxious to have him take them 
for a little run through the "Panhandle," 
and, acceding to their request, he took two, 
and the party started, reaching there after 
an uneventful Journey of four days. They 
immediately began a search for buffalo, but 
it certainly looked as if the animals had left 
that part of the country, as it was thirteen 
days before they saw a head. There were 
about thirty in the herd, and, after all sorts 
of maneuvers, Youngblood finally got within 
range, and dropped three, the remainder 
going off as though they had heard the crack 
of Youngblood's rifle before, and knew what 
it meant. 

After dressing the fallen, our party made 
after the runaways, but, although they fol- 

(349) 



350 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

lowed all day, did not see a lioof . Leaving 
their load at Cimarron River, our party 
started south again, and drove several days 
without falling in with any buffalo, although 
antelope were thicker than fleas on a dog's 
back. This amused the boys, but did not sat- 
isfy Youngblood, who was after larger game. 

Camping that night on one of the tribu- 
taries of the Beaver River, one of the boys 
dreamed that buffalo were all driven from 
the country, and was greatly discouraged in 
the morning, feeling certain that his dreaiji 
must be true, and that an empty wagon 
home would be the result, and could hardly 
believe his eyes when he saw, on a hill about 
a mile off, a herd of about fifty. A sharp 
chase resulted in the bagging of three, and 
the pursuit was continued after they had 
been dressed; but no more fell that day, and 
as it was very cold, and looked like snow, 
they looked about for a suitable place for 
camp. 

While searching for a good spot, Young- 
blood, greatly to his surprise, ran across an 



m^^-- 



DREAMS GO BY CONTRAEY. 351 

old partner of Ms, named Lee Howard, of 
whom mention lias been made before. This 
was a pleasant ej)isode, as Howard is a fine 
fellow and a good hunter, and, if he so 
desired, could tell some interesting stories of 
his experience. 

After spending a couple of days talking 
over old times with Howard, and taking ad- 
vantage of several stray buffalo to increase the 
load, our i^arty took up the line of march, 
passing through Boston, which had grown to 
be a lively town of great promise, and finally 
struck a spot that looked like buffalo; but 
it was four days before any turned up, 
and then it was only a single cow that was 
discovered lying down in the grass, and who 
saw the hunters as soon as they caught 
sight of her, and started off down a ravine at 
a lively gait. But Youngblood wanted her, 
and, leaving his sons in charge of the team, . 
ran on foot for a cut about two miles off, to 
intercept the old lady. When he reached 
that point, he found, as had been expected, 
the cow grazing as quietly as though Young- 



352 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

blood was a thousand miles off instead of 
fifty yards, and when she realized her posi- 
tion, she only had time to select a soft spot 
to fall on, for down she dropped, and again 
Youngblood was master of the situation. 

The wagon coming up shortly after, the 
cow was dressed and loaded, and our friends 
moved off to the left, soon discovering a 
large herd of Youngblood' s pets, and j)lans 
were immediately laid to make a big haul. 
As our hunters were about to move on the 
herd, a band of wild horses galloped up, 
stampeding the buffalo, so that Youngblood 
and his party could get nothing but long, 
flying shots, but succeeded in bagging one 
elegant bull, notwithstanding. 

Somewhat disappointed, but still hopeful, 
our friends proceeded on their journey, when 
their attention was attracted by a dark, mov- 
ing mass on the horizon. As the land was 
perfectly level, the exxDerienced eye of 
Youngblood soon discovered that a large 
herd of buffalo was rapidly approaching 
directly in their path. Getting the wagon and 



DREAMS GO BY CONTEARY. 353 

horses out of sight, Youngblood told the 
boys to stand ready, and when the big beasts 
passed, shortly after, about fifty shots were 
fired, and six fine animals concluded to go 
no further, while several others appeared to 
have felt the bullets. 

The stock having had nothing to drink all 
day, and the nearest water being sixteen miles 
away, it was necessary to knock oft" hunting 
for the afternoon. The cause of the rush 
made by the buffalo was soon discovered 
to be a prairie-fire, and a lively one' at that, 
making the thirsty and tired horses work 
hard to keep ahead of it; but they succeeded 
in doing so, and reached the much-desired 
stream, almost wholly exhausted, about 2 
o' clock in the morning. Never did confirmed 
toper more need or enjoy a drink than did 
Youngblood' s faithful horses, and to say 
that they were carefully taken care of is a 
waste of words, for our old hunter knows too 
well the value of good horses to neglect them 
in the slightest degree. 
Laying off the next day to rest, the follow- 



354 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

ing morning they started bright and early, 
and reached Boston with their heavy load in 
the afternoon. Many strangers were there, 
among them being one who had heard of 
Youngblood's prowess in hunting, and who 
said that he never had and never would have 
believed his stories to be true, had he not 
seen the great load hauled in that day. 

Our hero was approached by many stran- 
gers with requests for stories of his advent- 
ures, and he modestly and generously obliged 
them, staying up until late into the night — 
or rather early in the morning — before they 
would let him get the rest he had worked for, 
earned, and wanted to enjoy. 

Disposing of much of the meat in Boston, 
but keeping plenty for his friends in Butte, 
who depended upon him, Youngblood started 
for the latter point the next day, where he 
was enthusiastically received. Here he ran 
across a young Englishman, named George 
A. Flett, of the British lager -beer trust, of 
Liverpool, who was a typical dude hunter 
— leather gaiters, single eye-glass, and all. 



i*i7^/o«>- 



DEEAMS GO BY CONTRARY. 355 

This gentleman had all sorts of hammerless 
guns, patent fishing-tackle, and all, and was 
going to astonish the natives with his iDrowess 
by field and flood. While the boys were un- 
loading the wagon, he looked on in wonder, 
and some of his remarks were too good to 
be lost. 

Jim had just thrown out a big Jack-rabbit 
he had killed with a revolver, when Mr, 
Flett remarked to his friend: "Hi say, 
'Arry, old boy, what a bloody big 'are hit 
his." 

"Hare, nothing," said Youngblood, tak- 
ing in Mr. Englishman at a glance. ' ' That' s a 
prairie-mole, and a small one, too; ain't it, 
Jimmy?" 

"That's what! " remarked Jimmy, with a 
grin, helping to throw out a buffalo, which, 
when Mr. Flett saw it, caused him to remark: 
"Hi didn't know you 'ad Hangus cattle 
'bout 'ere. But Hi say, 'Arry, what long 
'air 'e 'as hon'is'ead!" and other ejacula- 
tions of a like order. 

Our readers can rest assured that Young- 



356 A MIGHTY nUNTEE. 

blood didn't spend much time over this typ- 
ical English hunter (and murderer as well); 
but we can feel certain that he would have 
enjoyed having him along for one trip any 
way. 

After having supplied the wants of Butte, 
our party proceeded to Coolidge, and turned 
out the horses, as a reward for their good 
work in time of need. 



CHAPTER XXXIl. 

CONCLUSION. 

Our narrative is finished, and there remains 
to be said but a few words to those whose 
kindly patience has followed our hero 
through these pages, necessarily incomplete 
and imperfect, as a man whose life has been 
such a busy and well-filled one has but little 
time to make accurate notes of all that 
occurred. 

There is no apology to be offered or any 
explanation to be made for presenting this 
volume to the public, except that it was 
written at the request of many of Mr. 
Young-blood's friends, who, knowing of his 
life in the wild West, were anxious to have 
his adventures written and published exactly 
as they had happened. 

There has been no attempt made at fanci- 
ful descriptions of imaginary adventures or 

(357:) 



358 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

a flowery style of narration, but it has been 
the intention to state only facts, and these in 
the briefest possible manner j)racticable; and 
if the reader does not consider this book suf- 
ficiently exciting or romantic, he must re- 
member that it is not a dime novel, nor the 
life of a desperado, highway-robber, or mur- 
derer, but, as far as it goes, the true his- 
tory of the life and adventures of an old 
hunter, a man of pure life and convictions, 
who at least has always tried to do his duty 
as he understood it, and who is devotedly 
attached to the wild j)rairie and woodland 
as Grod made them. 



THE END. 



f^^W'wW'^'^^ ■' ^ 



OOOLIDGE, KANSAS. 

Coolidge, the home of "A Mighty Hunter," has 
been referred to so many times in the preceding 
narrative, that perhaps some readers may have the 
curiosity, and others the patience, to read a few 
lines concerning this young City, for Coolidge is 
now a full-fledged City, the metropolis of Hamil- 
ton County and of Western Kansas. Although 
only a few years ago it was but a " trading-post " 
called Sargent, made up of an old sod fort and a 
flag station when the Santa Fe first went through, 
it now has about 1,500 bees, with the drones and 
moss-backs nearly all driven out, fine stone blocks, 
schools, and churches. The Peck "Water- Works 
Company furnishes the City and the Eailroad with 
the finest quality of water in the State, and a fire 
protection second to none. Its location, on the 
western line of Kansas, is almost identical with 
that of Kansas City on the eastern, and twenty 
years from now may find it as large a City; for its 
intermediately high altitude and one of the finest 
climates in the world (there having been only 
about forty stormy days in 1889, it being just near 
enough to the -mountains to escape the storms of 
Eastern and Middle Kansas, and far enough away 
to avoid the cold from the snow in them), and its 

(359) 

/ 



360 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

Artesian Waters, possessing Higlily curative prop- 
erties, are fast bringing Coolidge into prominence 
as a legiti7nate health resort. Everyone recom- 
mended to go to the mountains for pulmonary and 
throat troubles will find it wise to stop here and 
get acclimated. The change from a low altitude to 
that of Manitou, Colorado S23rings, and Denver is so 
great that many well people can not stand it, while 
invalids are often seriously injured, whereas if 
they had acclimated themselves at Coolidge, they 
would in most cases recover. The Artesian Water 
has effected some remarhahle cures of chronic 
Mdney and liver troubles . The address of those 
cured will be promptly furnished on application. 

Coolidge is situated on the Main Line of the 
Santa F6 Railroad, which has here' its Division 
Round-house, Work-shops, and Eating-house, and 
pays out monthly about 18,000. It is also situated 
in the Valley of the Arkansas River, surrounded 
by the most fertile lands in the West, and as a 
stock -growing locality it is incomparable. 

Youngblood, after having traversed the plains 
for twenty years, here decided to pitch his tent, 
finding here the best natural resources, climate, 
and water, and knowing that a prosperous City 
must eventually raise its walls in this favored spot. 

All inquiries will be prom|)tly and courteously 
answered by the City Clerk, or the Coolidge State 
Bank. 




W^^^'W ■ ;^;'"'^^-''^ 



TESTIMOmALS. 

This is to certify that I have known C, L. Yonngblood 
19 years, and want to say riglit liere, that in all of my 
hunting on the plains I have never seen a better hunter. 
In fact, I believe that he has killed more game than any 
man that ever lived. This is saying a great deal, and a 
great many hunters will doubt this statement, but if they 
knew Charles Youngblood as I do, seen his hunting, been 
with him in camp, shared in his chases over the plains in 
pursuit of Buffalo, and been a helpmate to him in roaming 
over the plains after Mustangs, I think that their doubts 
would vanish. He Is getting old now, but can yet kill 
more game than most men. The secret of his success is 
his skill in getting onto game; most huntei's can shoot well, 
but getting close enough Is the trouble. In getting onto 
game upon the level prairie (yes, level as floor for miles) is 
where most hunters arc foiled. He has this down to per- 
fection; he is a small man, but his wonderful endurance 
enables him to go farther after game than anyone that I 
ever saw. He is not given to boasting, says but very little 
about his exploits as a hunter; he is kind, hospitable, 
generous, and of good character; temperate in all his 
habits. 

I want to say a word here in regard to his truthfulness 

and honesty. There is no man that I would believe quicker 

than him; no man that 1 would sooner trust. I will close 

these remarks by wishing him many blessings and liappy 

years to come. Lee Howakd. 

["Old Hunter Lee."] 

(361) 



362 A MIGHTY HUNTER. 

Newton, Kansas. 
I do hereby cheerfully state that I have known Charles 
L. Youngblood, "A Mighty Hunter," for the past sixteen 
years. He is one of the most successful hunters I have 
ever known or heard of on the "Western plains, and I can 
vouch for the truthfulness of his narrative. 

J. H. Bender, 
Passenger Conductor on A., T. & 8. F. R. R. Go. 
for the past 17 years. 

ATcnisoN, ToPEKA & Santa Fb R. R. Co. 

CooLiDQE Station, Sept. 20, 1888. 
I hereby recommend this book, written from the diary 
of C. L. Youngblood, whom I have known In this section 
of Western Kansas this jpast eight years. As "A Mighty 
Hunter " and trapper he may have had equals, but excelled 
by none. Respectfully, 

C. M. Johnston, 

Agt. A., T. & 8. F. Ry., 

Goolidge, Kans. 

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fb R. R. Co. 
Colorado Springs, July 1, 1889. 
To whom it may concern: I have known Mr. C. L. 
Youngblood since 1883. During the several years I was 
agent at Coolidge, Kansas, the home of the old frontiers- 
man, I shipped to Eastern markets large quantities of 
Buffalo and Antelope killed by him. Mr. Youngblood is 
our oldest living hunter on the plains; his mind is active, 
and full of reminiscences of encounters with Red-skins and 
wild animals. p^^^^^^^ ^ Dockstader, 

, Agent Santa Fe. 



f!i«fig'^!!75^:f''!;v!r;,sr:p^ 




The Montezuma Hotel, 

A handsome structure o£ stone, is located at Las Vegas Hot Springs, 
New Mexico. This renowned mid-continent pleasure and health 
resort is six miles from the city of Las Vegas, on a branch of the 

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. 

An elevation of 7,000 feet above sea-level; a bright and clear 
climate (ten sunny days for every cloudy one) , and beautiful mount- 
ain scenery, with the attendant pleasures of hunting and fishing, 
combine to make Las Vegas Hot Springs deservedly popular among 
all classes of tourists. 

Montezuma Hotel has everjr modem convenience, including tele- 
graph, telephone, and four daily passenger trains. It is also open 
for guests 

EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR. 

The many springs near the hotel are justly celebrated for their 
healing properties. 

Roimd-trip excursion tickets are on sale to Las Vegas Hot Springs 
at all principal coupon stations. 

Write for pamphlet to 

CEO. T. NICHOLSON, 

General Passenger and Ticket Agent A., T. & S. F. R. R., 
TOPEKA, KANSAS, 

Or. JNO. J. BYRNE, Ass't Gen'l Pass, and Ticket Agt., Chicago, III. 



^tna National Bank, 

S. W. Cor. Twelfth and Main Streets, 

KANSAS CITY, MO. 



CAPITAL, - - - $250,000.00. 



OFFICERS. 

R. W. TUREMAN, President. 

M. H. CRAWFORD, Vice-President. 
L. D. COOPER, Cashier. 

R. J. HAWKINS, Assistant Cashier. 



DIRECTORS. 



R. W. TUREMAN, E. K. SUMERWELL, T, B. BUCK- 
NER, JOHN HALL, CHARLES STEWART, L. D. COOPER, 
JUDGE J. L. SMITH, R. E. TALPEY, DR. G. W. FITZ- 
PATRICK, J. K. RIPFEL, R. J. HAWKINS, H. S. RHODES, 
M. H. CRAWFORD," F. P. ROZZELLE, JUDGE A, W. 
ALLEN. 



SHIPMAN 

milonialli; Sleani EDglge 



AND 



BOILERS, 



ONE TO FORTY HORSE POWER. 



KEROSENE FOR FUEL. 

Simple, Efficient, and Economical 
for all uses. 



NO DIRT. NO DDST. NO ENGINEER. 



FOB PULL PARTICULARS ADDRESS: 

E. H. PECK, ■ ■ Agent, 

COOUDCE, KANS. 



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